Think Progress reports that it was 50 years ago this week when President John F. Kennedy signed an Executive Order allowing most federal workers to bargain collectively for the first time.
Prof. Joseph McCartin writes in the Los Angeles Times, “For 20 years after Kennedy’s order, public sector union rights were not controversial. To the contrary, they enjoyed bipartisan support.”
In the past year, public sector workers have become a popular scapegoat for government fiscal problems. Last year, Ohio legislators attempted to strip public employees of their collective bargaining rights based on the unfounded claim that it would save the state money. Similar legislation was passed in Wisconsin, while public sector workers in Michigan and Indiana have also endured attacks by legislators.
According to McCartin’s figures, the facts don’t support that thesis, citing that North Carolina, a state without collective bargaining is projected to have a 10% budget deficit for 2013, compared to the more densely unionized state of New York, which is projected to have a 3.5% deficit. Furthermore, studies show the largest part of the federal deficit increase has come from Bush-era policies such as the wars and tax cuts, as well as the effects of the recession.
Read the entire article at ThinkProgress.org.
