Unions’ efforts to protect benefits could backfire

Thursday, March 17, 2011 | 2:02 a.m.

I don’t blame public-sector unions and their members for fighting to keep what they have. I do, however, think it may be bad policy. It all depends what people in the nonunion private sector do.

I think it is impossible to reasonably argue with three observations:

1) In large numbers, public-sector employees have higher wages, better benefits and much better pensions than many in the private sector.

2) When an economic downturn hits, on average, people in the public sector are far better protected from the consequences than those working in the private sector.

3) The usual adversarial position between management and labor in the private sector does not exist in the public sector when unions negotiate with elected representatives and appointed managers in government.

The real question is whether people in the private sector will get angry and mobilized enough to scare politicians into correcting the inequity. If they do, public-sector unions and their members will regret not taking a more conciliatory tack and not being more honest about the facts.