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> But in the public sector, there is: the ballot box, i.e. all democratic policy ever. Collective decision-making takes place in the legislature. Do not like t
by newen 6y ago
> But in the public sector, there is: the ballot box, i.e. all democratic policy ever. Collective decision-making takes place in the legislature.
Do not like this argument. I know you acknowledge it later but there are so many problems with this. It assumes that some 0.5% of the population can affect the results of elections in any consistent manner, that they would even vote consistently given that they probably would have diverse politics, that politicians would care about problems (which can be some bureaucratic minutia) that they have, etc.
If teacher's unions didn't exist, you would never even hear about complaints that teachers have in the political arena except some pity article written by a journalist about the troubles that teachers have.
- JAlexoid 6y agoThere's a problem with public sector unions - they make a contract with 0.01% of the population, but the rest of the population gets to adhere to that contract. If teachers want to have unions - they should be free. If police officers want to go on a strike - they should be free to do so. What I disagree with - is that police unions take hostage the whole legislative process and force their own interests without a broad debate. Take police infraction reports in New York - police unions got their members infraction records sealed by law. Any legal mandate for union or any legal mandate against a union is bad.
- newen 6y agoYes, police unions need to be heavily regulated since they have so much power both politically and in terms of what kind of levers they can pull. For example, there was a story about Minnesota police slowing down their responses to areas in which their city council representative voted against the interests of the police union. But the narrow question of whether the police need a union or not, I think they do because they need representation etc., the same reasons why any employee, public or otherwise, needs a union.