Collective bargaining must remain

Frank Beaty, Las Vegas

Saturday, Feb. 26, 2011 | 2:03 a.m.

I have never been a member of a union — in fact, my only interaction with unions has been as a member of management, and it wasn’t always pleasant. But even I know that unions have set the standard for fair wages and safe working conditions that all workers, whether represented by unions or not, have enjoyed.

Fiscal sanity must be restored in government, but if the right to collective bargaining is eliminated, all wage earners will pay the price. In Wisconsin, they are going after the rights of teachers, certainly among the lowest paid of public servants compared with the job they are asked to do. This is an action that will add to the long-term deterioration of the middle class in America.

If we allow the right to collective bargaining to be taken away, it will be the beginning of the end for all wage earners in this country.

If a business can’t afford to pay a living wage, it should not be in business. There are many others in much higher-paying jobs whose salaries and benefits could be cut to balance budgets. It is time to end this insanity; let’s deal with the ridiculous gap between what folks like teachers make and what those who direct them make.