Why Do We Have Public Sector Unions?

Public sector employee unions do not have a legitimate reason to exist.

Before asking why we have public sector unions (those who represent government workers), let’s first ask “why do we have any unions?”

The short answer is that the unions are needed as a check and balance against employers who might otherwise have too much power. How does this “check and balance” work? Again, the short answer is that in the marketplace, union pressure against employers is balanced by market pressure on the employers. If the unions put too much pressure on the employers, the market will force the employers to push back on the unions or go out of business.

Without getting into any more detail on the fairness of how such labor relations are structured, you could say that at a high level, there is a self-regulating mechanism of check and balances operating to prevent unjust extremes. This view of course glosses over the fact that there may be interference with how the checks and balances are operating, such as when the government gets involved to regulate the relationship.

Now let’s consider public sector unions. What checks and balances are operating here? Does the government put too much pressure on its employees? I would hazard a guess that there has never been such an occurrence. However, when the public sector unions put “too much pressure” on the government, what force acts against the government to keep things in check?

The answer is that there is nothing but the self-discipline of the government, as the taxpayers do not have the power to choose a different government in the way that they can choose a different provider in the marketplace. (In my book, “self-discipline” and “government” in the same sentence is an oxymoron, and a joke).

The only realistic way the taxpayer can become a check and a balance against the public sector employees union is to vote for a government that will throttle back the presently  unbridled power of the public sector unions.

Because of the virtually unlimited power of the public sector unions, they have achieved approximately double the income and benefit levels of the average private sector employee. Under the present situation of no checks or balances, you could expect this trend to continue. This is patently unfair.

Fortunately, there is a wave coming which will lead to the unseating of these unlimited unions. Actually, the wave could come in a combination of two forms. In the first, it becomes possible for a state that is far underwater in its finances to legally go bankrupt. When this happens, watch for the dethroning of the affected public sector unions.

The other wave is coming at the ballot box this November.

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