A while ago, ‘Grok’s friend NH State Representative George Lambert started a thread discussing NH SB1 which would repeal to the Evergreen Clause (now passed). Simply put, Evergreen meant that all union contracts compensation agreements would remain in force if the two parties could not agree on a new contract. I jumped in after seeing a reply complaining that the public should not be involved in the negotiation process (edited to fit a more bloggish format) :
Before Evergreen, if a public sector union did not get a contract resolved, the situation remain static; people had their jobs (e.g., teachers) and current pay / benefits while negotiations proceeded. Please note: if the employees do not like the conditions, they can leave and get a job somewhere better. Remember, NO one is entitled to anything – including a job. The problem with Evergreen is that the other side, the taxpayers, have no recourse. They have to pay the additional costs regardless of the expired contract. There is no way to "win" in this situation.
With respect to crying over the fact that teachers and public servants are "drastically underpaid" compared to entertainers and sports stars because of misplaced societal values
- They are not drastically underpaid and certainly not at the bottom either (do your homework vis-a-vis average / median wage comparisons which are open source available).
- Top level entertainers are not overly paid either.
If they really feel that they are severely underpaid, why would public service workers stay in the job? That would mean that they are stupid; I doubt that.
The reason for top entertainers (including sports) get the pay they do is that…