from Amazon
Sunday, March 06, 2011
OK, someone had to bring up Wisconsin
I’ve been thinking about this for a while. Being a staunch liberal (but not liking labels or being pigeon-holed and always trying to understand opposing views rather than summarily dismissing or attacking them, as most politicians and poly commentators do), my first instinct was to back the protesters in Wisconsin and demonize the Republicans.
But then I thought, “The government are the employers of these people and they have a right to set whatever constraints on their employees as they like, and if the employees don’t like it, they can go work somewhere else.” That is the way free markets work.
However, after much more reflection, I realize that that position is wrong. First of all, changing the rules of the game in mid-stream is patently unfair (and would typically not be allowed if it conflicted with an employee/employer agreement). But that is a minor point.
The MAJOR point is that what the Republican government is trying to do is to make a LAW that prevents their current and future employees from doing something that obviously benefits their position - namely bargaining for their wages/rights in certain circumstances. That is dirty pool! No other employer, other than the government, can do that. They can’t make laws! They can’t say, “It is now illegal for you to bargain with me!” Only a law-making body can do that. And in a democracy it is patently ridiculous to allow the government as an employer to make laws which prevent their employees from bargaining! Could you imagine your employer, whoever they are, telling you, “I’m sorry, but you can’t bargain with us anymore about your wages or working conditions. It is now against the law to do that!” That is one reason why we have anti-trust laws.
If that is allowable, how about a LAW that says that all government workers have to work for minimum wage, or they have to wash the cars of all the state senators or congressmen once a week?
It is one thing for an employer to set a condition of employment. If the workers don’t like it, they can try and bargain it away. No employer can force an employee not to bargain. That can’t be done, with one exception and one exception only. And that is when the employer makes laws (not rules of employment - that is perfectly acceptable) which can make it illegal for an employee to bargain (again, in this case, certain, and not all, things).
I now realize why there are so many protesters and why they are so vehement about their position…