As a retired public librarian receiving a modest pension from the state of New York, I'm at an utter loss to understand the sudden demonization of public employees' unions. I'm endlessly grateful to my union local, which was founded in 1968 in the progressive spirit of that time, for protecting my colleagues and me from being fired at the whim of an arguably disturbed supervisor, for helping us to file grievances that prevented upper management from suddenly changing our job descriptions, and for helping us gain promotions in a system that was often overtly hostile to the thought of us advancing. (I remember managers telling us that if we stayed in our jobs for more than two years, it was because we had no ambition--I guess the fact that we loved our work and our workplace never entered their heads.) Most of all, I'm thankful for my continuing health benefits as a retiree, and for my pension, small as it is.

Instead of resenting us for having these benefits, why don't more private-sector workers organize and bargain collectively for their own?

Liane
Retiree, Local 1930
District Council 37
American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees
AFL-CIO