The March 22 editorial, “Madore gets it right: Councilor’s proposals on right to work, public collective bargaining smart steps,” is about individual freedom. The purpose of government, from our State Constitution, is “to protect and maintain individual rights.” The proposals would do that.
Government labor and management are two wings of the same bird of prey. Its nest is protected by secret negotiations and it feeds on taxpayers. Government unions are private entities providing a “service” to represent workers and negotiate contracts with government; they are government contractors. The same provisions on government contracts and contractors should apply.
Unions and its “union security” could take a lesson from America and our “national security.” In the 1970s, America ended the draft and compelled military service, and an all-volunteer force was created. The military went through huge cultural changes, made significant improvements, increased diversity, and established strong recruiting efforts. During my 1968 to 1990 Army career, I experienced the initial difficulty, then the significant improvements. Ever hear a veteran call a non-veteran a freeloader?
Rather than compel workers to pay to work, unions could influence them to join by selling the benefits of membership. Those who demand keeping the status quo of union security’s “condition of employment” might support reinstatement of the draft and making compelled military service a “condition of citizenship.”
