Government Unions 101: What Public-Sector Unions Won't Tell You (And Don't Want You To Know) :: Political News and commentaries

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March 1, 2011

Government Unions 101: What Public-Sector Unions Won't Tell You (And Don't Want You To Know)

Over at The Heritage Foundation ... a short course in public sector unions:

What Is Government Collective Bargaining?

Legal Monopoly: Government collective bargaining gives unions a monopoly on the government's workforce. The government must employ workers on the terms the union negotiates. It may not hire competing workers.

Private vs. Public-Sector: Unions operate differently in government than in the private sector. Private-sector unions bargain over limited profits. Competition from other businesses moderates wage demands. Governments earn no profits and have no competition. Government unions negotiate for more tax dollars.

Risking Public Services: When government unions strike, they can deprive citizens of essential services -- such as education for children -- until demands are met.

History of Government Collective Bargaining

Unions Once Rejected: Early labor leaders didn't believe unions belonged in government. In 1955, George Meany, then-president of the AFL-CIO, said "It is impossible to bargain collectively with the government." In 1959 the AFL-CIO Executive Council declared, "In terms of accepted collective bargaining procedures, government workers have no right beyond the authority to petition Congress -- a right available to every citizen."

FDR: President Franklin Delano Roosevelt (D) gave unions extensive powers to bargain collectively in the private sector but excluded them from government. FDR believed collective bargaining had no place in public service and that a government strike was "unthinkable and intolerable."

A Change of Heart: Union membership peaked in the private sector in the 1950s. Unions came to see government employees as valuable new dues-paying members. Some states, like VA and NC, still do not negotiate public spending with government unions. 52% of union members in the U.S. now work for a government.