Ungrateful Govt Union Thugs

In this Yahoo! Finance article, "Thousands of British schools will close and travelers will face long lines at airport immigration Thursday when three quarters of a million workers go on strike. The first test comes when 750,000 public-sector workers -- from teachers to driving examiners to customs officials -- walk out for the day, part of a growing wave of opposition to the Conservative led government's deficit-cutting regime of tax hikes, benefit curbs and spending cuts."

"The government insists everyone must share the pain as it cuts 80 billion pounds ($130 billion) from public spending to reduce the huge deficit, swollen after Britain spent billions bailing out foundering banks. It is cutting civil service jobs and benefits, raising the state pension age from 65 to 66, hiking the amount public sector employees contribute to pensions and reducing the payouts they get on retirement."

With Britain having faced a similar economic catastrophe spurned by the near collapse of the American Banking system, and having instituted a similar fix of propping up banks with low interest loans and easy money lending from its Central Bank, coupled with a loss in government revenue and increased deficits, one could anticipate the probable occurrence of Govt Unions reacting angrily to cuts in the United States. Oh wait, we've already seen it in Minnesota and New Jersey when the respective Governors took on Govt Unions. I might add that these Governors could also be classified as "Conservative".

It's no wonder Govt Unions usually get what they want, while they're "Public Servants" they also provide necessary functions such as teaching, police, fire fighters, public transportation, etc., so when they go on strike, all those services go unfulfilled creating an immediate need. It's unrealistic, in the US for example, to expect that while the private sector suffers unemployment at 9-something percent, even higher if you count the underemployed, the public servants take no raises but keep their jobs. Eventually if revenues fall enough, additional savings have to occur and most unions would rather keep members' jobs than see someone laid off for a benefit.

However, not Govt Unions, they don't want to give up anything and when you threaten to take away a previously promised benefit, despite changing economic circumstances from when that benefit was given, they go on strike causing everyone to feel their immediate need for the services they provide. This is unconscionable. This is why I believe if you have a govt. job you shouldn't be allowed to strike because your actions amount to blackmail. You already have the benefit of a secure job with little threat of layoffs and the pension you receive you know is good because it's backed by the govt. Ultimately Govt Unions need to recognize that they work for the taxpayer and if the taxpayer is taking a paycut, so should they.