I avoid political spats, but enough of this adulation of public-sector unions, already. I hand the mircophone to my esteemed colleague John Derbyshire:
"Why do public-sector workers need unions? The purpose of unions is to protect employees against unscrupulous bosses, who might seek to maximize profits by taking advantage of those who work for them. In the public sector, however, there are no profits to be maximized, no shareholders to appease. The work that is being done is being done in the public interest — against which, as Calvin Coolidge quite correctly declared, there is no right to strike. So what do government workers need unions for? If public-sector workers don't like their pay and conditions, they can appeal to the tax-paying public, who are their ultimate employers. If that doesn't work, they can go get jobs in the private sector, and take their chances with capitalism, like free citizens of a free nation."
Hear, hear.