More Bad News for Unions

Lost in the fog of recall reporting out of Wisconsin was this news from California - where two bastions of conservatism gutted union rights a la Scott Walker.

Voters in two major California cities overwhelmingly approved cuts to retirement benefits for city workers in what supporters said was a mandate that may lead to similar ballot initiatives in other states and cities buried under mounting pension obligations.

Public employee unions that aggressively fought the measures weren’t able to overcome the simple message supporters used to attract voters in San Diego and San Jose: Pensions for city workers are unaffordable and more generous than many private companies offer. The result is reduced public services in the form of such things as limited hours at public libraries and unfilled potholes.

Like Walker's victory....it was a squeeker.....

In San Diego, two-thirds of voters favored Proposition B while the landslide was even greater in San Jose, the nation’s 10th-largest city. With all precincts counted, 70 percent were in favor of Measure B.

Obviously this was a GOP plot...

“The public is frustrated,” said San Diego Councilman Carl DeMaio, a Republican who staked his mayoral bid on the pension measure and advanced to a November runoff in Tuesday’s election to lead the nation’s eighth-largest city....

“The voters get it, they understand what needs to be done,” said San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed, a Democrat who has called pension reform his highest priority.

The argument against both referendum was not a compelling one apparently

Opponents say the measures deprive workers of benefits they were counting on when they got hired. Some workers decided against potentially more lucrative jobs with private companies, figuring their retirement was relatively safe.

For many in the private sector, this is pain that they have ALREADY FELT as their employers have already been pushing to keep the doors open.  Many ask simply "why shouldn't you have to make the same sacrifices that we already have?" and that is a good question.

In a down economy, cuts have to be made - by the individual and the unions and the employer - if the jobs are going to survive.  So the question needs to be asked...which would you rather do lose some benefits or lose you JOB?  Keeping both in this economy (in many cases) is not an option....something that many unions and union members simply don't get.

Tuesday's results from California are worse news for unions than Governor Walker's survival.  It shows that the taxpayers are more than willing to force the unions into sharing the sacrifice. 

Public employee pension reforms ARE inevitable.  Reality (as a certain GOP Senatorial candidate) is not negotiable,  The sooner that the PSEUs get involved in the reforms the better it will be for them.  If they show that they are willing to make some concessions, they will garner more public goodwill than they lost during their recall temper tantrum.

Sadly though - based on the Wisconsin temper tantrum - I don't think that will ever happen.  And that is bad news for the unions.