Public workers have it good

By The Des Moines Register

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Public workers generally have it pretty good, from pay to health insurance to job security. That has led to envy and resentment among private-sector workers. Some elected officials are now tapping into those feelings.

Governors, lawmakers and even some potential presidential candidates are blaming public-employee unions (and by extension, public workers) for government budget problems. The eye of the storm is Wisconsin, where anti-union proposals have been met with huge protests.

But the skies are far from clear in Iowa. Lawmakers are considering a bill to revise Iowa's public-employee bargaining act (signed into law by Republican Gov. Robert Ray in 1974) and increase what state workers pay for health insurance.

Some changes are needed. Workers should contribute more to cover their health insurance. State-employee unions in Iowa have grown into powerful lobbying forces that sometimes work against the public interests. Examples include preventing bad teachers from being fired, and blocking public access to information about government employees.

But there is no merit in demonizing public workers. That is wrong, and Iowa should rise above it.

These are the people we all rely on for a functioning state. They clear snow from highways, process unemployment checks, respond to complaints about nursing homes and guard the bad guys behind prison walls. They are the people we call when a child is abused or a stream is filled with manure.

But no one goes into government - whether inspecting restaurants or patrolling highways or teaching kids - to get rich. Many public employees with college degrees trade higher salaries in the private sector for job security and frequently thankless work.

There is room for some changes in compensation and benefits for government employees and the power of public-sector unions. But there is no room for demonizing the workers or devaluing the jobs they do. And there's no room for the politics that contaminate honest discussion. Unions are a major faction within the Democratic party. When Republicans attack unions and public employees, they're really taking a swipe at the opposing party.

It's political. And it takes the focus off the real cause of state budget problems: an economic recession caused by bankers, speculators and other “big money” players. Not social workers and park rangers.