Public Sector Unions have been, and should be, illegal: the government is bargaining against itself! The last President to slam the door on this chicanery was The Gipper. Will The Clipper follow in his footsteps?
Listen here on Soundcloud:
MEMBERS ONLY
February 15, 2026
No Comments
I think it was @Iowahawkblog who, years ago, tweeted something to the effect of, “When the public sectors unionize, remember who they’re united against – the taxpayers”
I often hear this quote “The folks who need a union don’t have one, and the ones that have one don’t need it.” My one experience with union was many years ago, when I went to a supply room to secure respirator cartridges for my mask. My coworker asked me to bring him some too. Just after picking up the cartridges, I was stopped by two large, 300+ pound union men who informed me that I was taking away a union job by carrying the extra cartridges. Had my coworker gone to get his own, there would not have been… Read more »
Many years ago i had a grievance against me as a lady was carrying a part down a flight of steps and I helped her.
They said another union person should have helped. I pushed that if it was a two person task then the worker needed to be written up for a safety violation trying to carry the part on her own.
They removed their grievance.
HAH! Saw pogues sank same.
I work in the Government (IRS) and agree that unions should not negotiate wages. But what about things like unfair treatments by managers, work hours, safety, etc? I’ve run across all those, some corrected by the union, some not. If unions can’t deal with those, who can? Or the horrible treatment ok for public employees? Or do you want only horrible employees that have no choice, or no government? Minimal government, yes. None?…..be careful what you wish for, you may get it. Hint: no government, no laws or none enforced. Crime through the roof, just like in Democratically controlled cities,… Read more »
Love ya, Harry, but I think all that mistreatment is balanced out by government service retirement plans being the envy of all of us who are self-employed.
You cannot justify the current situation, where government employees vote in government officials who write the rules/make the laws/pay off their elections/allow them access to grift.
I agree with your second paragraph. Can’t make that any clearer. No negotiation for pay. As to retirement plans being the envy of the self employed, I’d bet most large business (non government) retirement plans beat out most of those Self employed plans. Also our retirement plans do not match my last non government plan. ( Although its close; better in some ways and worse in others) And with Trump its not always true its really a guaranteed job for life with Incredible retirements any more, and I agree with him. Get the bad ones out, and the good ones… Read more »
I have limited exposure to anyone other than my youngest son’s in-laws. They retired at fifty at full pay. (Come to think of it, that may be a state thing. Oops.). They stayed in their jobs for that very reason. As a physician, I’m was expected to be there for the people who made it to the hospital. Lots of the uninsured to see. (Turns out a majority of facial fractures happen to folks who deserve facial fractures.). I once walked seven miles one way in the ice (Atlanta’s famous ice storm years ago). I’m smart enough not to do… Read more »
Yes, leaving because of open sewage was a law. The issue was so I have to use vacation or sick time, or should it cost me nothing. Management wanted use to use our time. Union said no way.
I have worked in both Union and Non-union shops (never as a union member) and those safety and fairness issues all have Federal and State laws. Now different companies do treat things like snow differently. For us, we get lots of ice in these hills. So our GM is pretty good about canceling work. But our rule of thumb is if an employee doesn’t feel safe, stay home. We manage abusers of our niceness on an individual basis. As far as the sewage, that is what OSHA is for. With or without a union, those rules need to be followed.… Read more »
The law was to leave. OSHA made us. The issue is do I take sick time or vacation time. Union said use admin, no loss of either.
I’m probably not as familiar with government work as you are and things were both different for me than you in a past life and times have changed. Outside collective bargaining for wages, which is a different matter altogether — Here’s the thing in government work as far as what you’re talking about. … Government work attracts a critter that in the Marines we called “pogues”*. Useless cogs that do nothing but rotate on a gear and pass the work off to the next cog. Another name for them is my personal Marine Corps favorite “shit bird”. Pogues are not… Read more »
My experience is there are “pogues” everywhere. More in government work. When I heard initially that wanted 20% cut in the IRS, I thought “That’s about right”* if you got the “pogues” out. Not so oddly, the percentage of “pogue” union stewards was higher than most. But even they had to do actual work, especially union work for other employees. Don’t work even occasionally for other employees, and eventually you get voted out. There were good ones, but they were the exception. And how do you think I got at least some time off not using my time in the… Read more »
Not a fan of any union but a public sector union is truly an abomination.
A quick look at the GS schedule shows that 40% of the listed salaries are OVER the Median Income in US. About 15% are over 100k. We are sui generis with our tax dollars. I am sure that these are the best and brightest.
“I am sure that these are the best and brightest.”
That is the running joke in my little corner of employment. In fact, some of the worst are the brainless management, because they continue to allow incompetent employees to remain. Like the mythological turtles, there is graft all the way down.
The non merit promotion and pay is bad wherever its found.
The pay some of these people get is ridiculous, and far too many in those high paying jobs. That’s one reason for no negotiation for pay.