Attacks on unions are misdirected

There is so much more for Wisconsin and the United States to lose if the governor of Wisconsin wins, Collective bargaining is the end target of the governor and the tea party. The unions have already told the governor of their interest in bargaining instead of having cuts pushed down the throats of the people in their unions. The governor has no interest in bargaining with anyone. He is a one-man dictator.

If Wisconsin cuts teacher salaries, the teachers will have no choice but to leave the state for a more lucrative market and they won’t have to go far, Illinois has collective bargaining in tack. Or they will have to leave the teaching career altogether. Are any of us under the delusion that they would make more in the private sector? The result of this would be a decline in the education system in Wisconsin. When an education system declines, industry will leave the state. Employees want a good education system for their children and will take jobs in states that have a good education system.

Now for the United States. Unions and collective bargaining are the reason we, in the private sector, enjoy such benefits as employer-sponsored health insurance, vacation and fair wages. Unions and collective bargaining set the standards that the private sector follows. It is a dangerous path we start down when we attack the unions. We could stand to lose a lot if we start this in Wisconsin.

There is no doubt the state is having budget troubles. Few of us today are not. The budget woes are not the fault of the unions or organized labor. They were started by an irresponsible financial community and a lack of legislation on them. If you want to fix the problem, Governor, legislate the financial community and not the unions.

Jean Orsan

Hoffman Estates