U.S. Recovery Might Need Public-Sector Unions: Tom Juravich

Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker is wrong. The way to fix his state’s fiscal crisis isn’t by destroying public-sector unions and the half-century tradition of collective bargaining among teachers and state employees.

Walker argues that given the growing state deficit, there is no other choice than to slash the wages and benefits of public-sector workers whose compensation, he suggests, far exceeds that of workers in the private sector. He says he needs to gut collective bargaining because he and political leaders at the local level need flexibility to institute further cuts if necessary. Upon examination, his position is rooted more in the rhetoric of the Tea Party than in economic reality.