Let the bloodletting begin

[SSG Snuggle Bunny]

Labor's Coming Class War

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In this recession, for example, construction workers are suffering from unemployment levels roughly double the national rate, according to a recent analysis of federal jobs data by the Associated General Contractors of America. They are relearning, the hard way, that without a growing economy, all the labor-friendly laws and regulations in the world won't keep them working.

What's more, "blue-collar union workers are beginning to appreciate that the generous pensions and health benefits going to their counterparts in state and local government are coming out of their pockets," says Steven Malanga, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute. "Not only that, they are beginning to understand the dysfunctional relationship between collective bargaining for government employees and their own job prospects."

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These days the two types of worker inhabit two very different worlds. In the private sector, union workers increasingly pay for more of their own health care, and they have defined contribution pension plans such as 401(k)s. In this they have something fundamental in common even with the fat cats on Wall Street: Both need their companies to succeed.

By contrast, government unions use their political clout to elect those who set their pay: the politicians. In exchange, these unions are rewarded with contracts whose pension and health-care provisions now threaten many municipalities and states with bankruptcy. In response to the crisis, government unions demand more and higher taxes. Which of course makes people who have money less inclined to look to those states to make the investments that create jobs for, say, iron workers, electricians and construction workers.

Some of these folks are beginning to notice.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704111504576060092978223976.html?mod=rss_opinion_main

Public employee unions are the epitome of political corruption.

[Chris_]

In this recession, for example, construction workers are suffering from unemployment levels roughly double the national rate, according to a recent analysis of federal jobs data.

I grew up with this and got used to it.  After I graduated from high school, if you didn't have a college degree in this city, the only thing available was construction or restaurant work.  Anyone with more than two years of real-life experience knows that January-March are the slow periods and people will lose their jobs.  I've been through more places than I can name because I was dispensable and the economy dictated that payroll needed to be cut to keep things running.  I lived that way for years.

I don't understand why this is a surprise to anyone that isn't interested in using bad news to score political points.