Asterix
Active Member
"which, when you think about it, means they're really mad at the unions' privileges" Taken out of a larger post but this kinda sums up in my opinion the true underlying cause for the bitterness towards unions regardless of what they do. Envy and jealousy. People just want to see others torn down because they don't have the same perks.
I don't think that is quite an accurate conclusion. Sure people are jealous. Who wouldn't want a better-than-inflation raise, more sick days than they currently get and the ability to save them up for future payout?
But most people also realize that just because they might want to have those benefits for themselves, it is not always feasible. In the private sector, there is only so much money that one's company earns (and can therefore pay out in salaries/benefits) and it simply is not reasonable for them and their fellow workers to be able to demand or expect those payments and perks.
That the public sector unions have a monopoly on their jobs and an employer who theoretically has nearly unlimited ability to tax in order to pay those workers means that they exist in essentially an artificial world that is seemingly disconnected from the rest of us (who are the ones who end up bearing the burden of providing the funds for those salaries and benefits).
It's not a matter that people don't want the unions to get those deals because they can't get them themselves, but it's because they realize it is not fiscally sound for the city (and ultimately them as tax paying citizens).