Ed Rutledge for Lieutenant Governor

By Ed Rutledge

Libertarian for Lieutenant Governor of Illinois

07/09/2010

It is an old joke that Chicago has two seasons, winter and … walk-offs? The old joke was certainly thrown for a loop this summer as construction workers walked off of their job sites to demand an increase to their benefits package.

I was recently asked if I believed that employees working for the state should have the right to strike, and I agreed that they did. Everyone has the right to refuse a proposed exchange of time and labor for money and benefits. But it should be remembered that there are two sides to every transaction, and that the transaction must be agreeable to both parties.

This brings us to the striking construction workers and their demands. Frankly, I find it incredible that employees working on public projects are demanding more from a state that is well known to be broke, that is more than 150 days behind in paying its bills, and which is struggling with unemployment topping 11%. You can’t get blood from a turnip, no matter how hard you squeeze, and the union workers should consider this when listening to their bosses who continue to make bold promises.

In this economy, nobody can be assured of anything. Most people that I know who are working are glad just to be working. Many people that I know who are working have taken pay decreases – they are certainly not getting raises. I happen to be one of those people making significantly less than I was before. Why those working for the state, directly or indirectly, feel that they should get a pay increase is beyond me, unless it is because they see our Governor giving his staff pay raises and they want some of that action, too.

This is in no way an indictment of union workers who, I have heard from those who would know, often do better work than their non-union counterparts. This is also not an indictment of workers’ right to organize. Unions played a vital role in breaking apart the culture of government sponsored monopolies a century ago.

But it is time for union employees to start holding their bosses accountable for their role in stagnating Illinois’s economy, which is now leaving union members without work.  And it is time for state employees and contractors to get back in touch with the rest of society. It is hard out here. People are struggling. People are out of work.

If those who are doing work for the state are unhappy with their compensation, then perhaps they should find a new employer who will pay them what they think they deserve. And if they do, then I truly would wish them the very best in their future endeavors.

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