The Right Needs to Defend the First Amendment, Too

The Right has singled out public sector workers-including schoolteachers, healthcare workers, police officers and firefighters-as well as their unions and pensions as burdens draining the economy., as a part of the Right's hatred of collective bargaining agreements in general and Public Workers' unions or associations in particular, the argument is made that collective bargaining is somehow alien, socialistic and foreign.

Many states and the Federal government authorize collective bargaining for employees. When it comes to government workers, the differences are significant. Florida Statutes §447.209, for example, makes clear that the government agency is to "set standards of services to be offered to the public and... to direct its employees, take disciplinary action for proper cause, and relieve its employees from duty because of lack of work or for other legitimate reasons."

Section 447.301 sets forth the rights of the employee. He or she may choose to join public employee union or organization, but is not required to do so; the organization may petition the agency to discuss working conditions, salary, etc. but the agency is not required to do anything other than consider the suggestions. If an employee chooses not to join an organization, he or she receives the same benefits that may accrue to a member. All union activities are conducted on non-work time and without compensation. No public employee may engage in a strike or a work stoppage of any kind, under penalty of firing and criminal penalties.

Over the past months, Republican candidates, and elected officials, have promoted the adoption of "Second Amendment remedies" if their social and economic mandates are ignored. Compare this to the public employees' reliance on the First Amendment which guarantees the right to assemble or otherwise petition the government for a redress of grievances.

And that is precisely the function of public unions. Every employee may make suggestions to his or her employer and if those discussions end up with a more productive and safer work environment benefiting all employees, it is to the better. Rather than a multitude of individual requests for consideration, the union presents a single and unified manner to institute change. The agency employer is obligated to do nothing more than listen and consider, totally ignoring the petition. The public employee cannot strike and has no real sanctions counting on the reasonableness of the agency and the persuasive nature of the requests.

The Recession has created gaping deficits in state and municipal government revenues which fell along with household incomes, spending and real estate values. Meanwhile, the need and demand for services, such as Medicaid, Food Stamps and heating oil assistance, has risen as people's circumstances have worsened. Consider, though that the recession was caused by Wall Street abuses and greed and abuse, not the pay scales of elementary school teachers, healthcare workers or public safety personnel.

In the aggregate, state and local governments are the single largest employer in the United States. They are also the country's most important providers of education, healthcare, public safety and other vital forms of social support. Meanwhile, the official unemployment rate is stuck at 9 or 10%; the dominant mantra is to dismantle rather than shore up state and local governments in their moment of crisis!

Meanwhile there has been an acceptance of the fiction that public sector workers are overpaid relative to employees in comparable positions in the private sector. The fact that this claim is demonstrably false appears not to matter. In Florida, for example, in 2009, the most recent period for which figures have been reported, state governments nationwide had an average of 216 state workers per 10,000 in population; Florida had 117 workers or 45.8% fewer than the national average. In 2009, the state government national average was $72 in payroll expenditures per state resident while Florida's payroll expenditure was $38, or 47.2% less than the national average. Florida state employees, who have not had any raise in more than three years, earn 4.7 % less than counterparts in private industry.

Notwithstanding the beliefs of our new Governor, Rick Scott, it is precisely when unemployment is high and people are in distress that governmental services must be expanded. (Our Governor had run on a platform bragging that he had not been indicted when his company was responsible for the largest Medicare/Medicaid fraud - ever.) But that's another story.

Make no mistake about it, the position of Wisconsin Governor Scott wheeler's stubbornness has nothing whatsoever with budgetary shortfall, which does certainly exist. According to the Governor, he wants state employees to pay into their pension fund and the leaders of the Union have readily agreed. The employees have agreed to all financial concessions requested by the Governor, understanding that everyone must pitch in alleviate the situation. The real point of the Right is to eliminate collective bargaining albeit a toothless and sanctionless bargaining agent. The only power than a public sector association is to persuade.

The Governor and his party have another motive altogether: to satisfy their hate for unionization of any kind. On that news this morning Illinois Governor Pat Quinn acknowledged that there were no financial issues unresolved in Wisconsin but he was opposed to any collective bargaining for government workers. Governor Quinn stated that the public employee federations or unions were far "to powerful and awash with money" and they could influence elections. The Republicans have, on the other hand, no problem when the Chambers of Commerce or Wall Street firms support GOP positions!

Are there significant problems in many states' pension funds? There are two primary reasons for deficits in the funds. First, over the years, many states, including Wisconsin, Ohio and New Jersey among them, failed to make legislative-mandated contributions to the funds, using the money on other matters. Some states, on the other hand, kept their obligations and, as a result, for example, Virginia appears solvent. Florida had been paying its contribution in a timely and satisfactory manner; its pension shortfall was caused by investing in the devices created by the institutions that caused the collapse of the economy.

The issue is not about money and it never has been. The Right has declared a culture preying war on the most vulnerable. Shame.