It is understandable that nearby Catoosa and Whitfield counties in Georgia have adopted resolutions opposing a bill in Congress that would force counties in many states to grant collective-bargaining rights to police, firefighter or other public safety unions. The resolutions were in no way approved out of disrespect for those important, courageous workers.
But government workers should not be unionized. They serve the public at taxpayer expense, and especially where police or firefighters are concerned there should be no hint that the protection of the public will be compromised or delayed by labor negotiations. If public safety workers believe their wages and benefits are inadequate, they should make their case to the public, which has the power to remove the elected officials who set wages and benefits.
Mike Babb, Whitfield County Commission chairman, made that point in an interview with the Times Free Press: “We believe this is not a good thing for the citizens,” he said. “All of our employees have the ultimate negotiating skills in that they can vote us out of office.”
The bill in question would force counties to recognize public safety worker unions and meet collective-bargaining standards set by Congress. The federal government would take over the “negotiations” if it felt a county had not met its standards.
The head of the Georgia Association of Chiefs of Police also opposes the bill.
“I’m not saying that law enforcement doesn’t deserve good salaries, but it should be based on merit and what the communities can afford,” said Frank Rotondo of the police chiefs group. “Unions have a tendency to protect inferior workers.”
We highly respect those who risk their lives to protect the public, but Congress should defeat this bill.
Congress should also defeat another power grab by Big Labor.
Some in Congress have been trying essentially to do away with secret-ballot votes when workers consider unionizing. Instead, employees would sign or not sign cards stating their support for unionizing. But without the security of a secret ballot, they could be intimidated by labor bosses into voting for a union even if they do not really want one.
And the fact is, Americans by and large do not want their workplaces unionized. Union membership has rapidly dropped over the past few decades, to the current low of 12.3 percent of all workers. What’s more, a majority of union workers today are in government. In the private sector, only 7.2 percent of workers are unionized.
Workers do have a legitimate right to organize – freely, fairly and without intimidation from management or labor. But that right should be restricted to the private sector, and unions should not be imposed without secret-ballot votes.