In my search for information on public vs. private unions, I came across some very interesting and compelling research. I'll begin with President Franklin Delano Roosevelt:
"Roosevelt's reign certainly was the bright dawn of modern unionism. The legal and administrative paths that led to 35% of the nation's workforce eventually unionizing by a mid-1950s peak were laid by Roosevelt.
But only for the private sector. Roosevelt openly opposed bargaining rights for government unions.
"Roosevelt's reign certainly was the bright dawn of modern unionism. The legal and administrative paths that led to 35% of the nation's workforce eventually unionizing by a mid-1950s peak were laid by Roosevelt.
But only for the private sector. Roosevelt openly opposed bargaining rights for government unions.
"The process of collective bargaining, as usually understood, cannot be transplanted into the public service," Roosevelt wrote in 1937 to the National Federation of Federal Employees. Yes, public workers may demand fair treatment, wrote Roosevelt. But, he wrote, "I want to emphasize my conviction that militant tactics have no place" in the public sector. "A strike of public employees manifests nothing less than an intent on their part to prevent or obstruct the operations of Government."(Real Clear Politics)
That's a pretty powerful statement coming from a man considered to be a champion of worker's rights. This next statement makes a powerful point against the potential danger or public unions:
"The very nature of many public services — such as policing the streets and putting out fires — gives government a monopoly or near monopoly; striking public employees could therefore hold the public hostage. As long-time New York Times labor reporter A. H. Raskin wrote in 1968: "The community cannot tolerate the notion that it is defenseless at the hands of organized workers to whom it has entrusted responsibility for essential services."(Professor Bainbridge)
I encourage you to click the reference links above to dive even more deeply into the subject. It's very much a pressing issue that Grand County will soon face, and it will benefit all of us to grasp the importance of it now.
That's a pretty powerful statement coming from a man considered to be a champion of worker's rights. This next statement makes a powerful point against the potential danger or public unions:
"The very nature of many public services — such as policing the streets and putting out fires — gives government a monopoly or near monopoly; striking public employees could therefore hold the public hostage. As long-time New York Times labor reporter A. H. Raskin wrote in 1968: "The community cannot tolerate the notion that it is defenseless at the hands of organized workers to whom it has entrusted responsibility for essential services."(Professor Bainbridge)
I encourage you to click the reference links above to dive even more deeply into the subject. It's very much a pressing issue that Grand County will soon face, and it will benefit all of us to grasp the importance of it now.
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