Sleep in the bed you made

Don Ellis, Henderson

Saturday, June 30, 2012 | 2:02 a.m.

In regard to the letter of June 23, “Public unions shouldn’t complain”:

I worked several years in a unionized steel mill during my youth, and later in life was employed four years in a unionized government public-sector job. I served two years in the military and worked 40 years in the private sector.

The letter writer poses questions and asks, “Is that fair?” My answer is a resounding yes.

I busted my buns while working in the steel mill, and if it weren’t for the union demands of safety, I may not be here today.

During my short career working for the government, I was allowed to purchase my military service time to better my retirement pension. These small benefits could never happen in the private sector because the private sector’s bottom line is for company profit only.

My 40 years of private-sector work, for the most part, are not something I would ever wish on anyone. Over those 40 years, I amassed a meager $100,000 retirement benefits and lost 50 percent of those benefits because of unregulated company policies.

For the people who seem to hate unions, I wonder: Have they ever worked in a unionized position? Do they have enough education or skill to qualify for a government-sector job? How much of their hate for the union workers is generated by their existing employment position?

Sleep in the bed you made.