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"I never understand why people get overly emotional about teacher salaries but not other public positions like fire, police, military, etc." Firefighters and P
by pmorici 16y ago
"I never understand why people get overly emotional about teacher salaries but not other public positions like fire, police, military, etc."
Firefighters and Police were notably excluded from the recent anti-union legislation legislation they passed in Wisconsin. My guess is because if they had included the Police then who would have kept order in the capitol building? The police would have been out there on strike with the teachers.
- ataggart 16y agoFirst, firefighters and police were not excluded from the bill; they were explicitly included under the rubric of "public safety employees" (as opposed to general municipal employees). Second, the difference in treatment contained in the bill is that public safety employees can collectively bargain on hours, working conditions, and wages, whereas general municipal employees can only collectively bargain on wages. I'm no expert, but perhaps a firefighter sleeping in the firehouse so he can hop on the truck at 2AM faces different concerns than the secretary to the tax collector.