Not a good time unions protests

With several states starting to change some labor laws affecting only the public sector union employees, this is not the right time for all unions to raise the ghosts of John L. Lewis, Walter Reuther or Jimmy Hoffa.

The state legislature passed new labor rules to encourage more conventions at McCormick Place. The McCormick Place unions challenged the new work rules and the courts overturned the legislation. This could jeopardize $1 billion in convention income that not only affects Chicago and the state of Illinois but also the union members at McCormick Place.

Chicago has Teamster truck drivers that are paid to read or sleep and cannot be fired at a cost of $14 million to the Chicago taxpayer.

Teachers are starting to receive salary increases that are larger than COLA, yet Social Security recipients will receive no increase because Congress states that there is no inflation: therefore, no COLA increase.

Taxpayers are not upset with the salaries the public sector employees earn. The taxpayers are upset about the benefits when these people retire. These retirement benefits are bankrupting every state. Teachers, members of the SEIU and AFSCME unions receive retirement income and benefits that are far greater than the private sector employees. These public sector unions only pay the equivalent of what private sector employees pay into Social Security.

If the public sector unions want to have referendums and protests that damage public property, this is not the time. These public unions forget that it is the taxpayer who pays their salaries and benefits both when working and retired and 80 percent of the taxpayers are not union members.

Jack McCabe

Batavia