EagleTribune.com : Blogs : The Soapbox

Of course the unions in Andover want to settle their contracts sooner than later. Who wouldn’t want that?
But there’s a difference between them and those in the private sector who have to pay for those contracts. It’s not like union members have to worry about losing their jobs if they don’t have a signed contract, unless they demand increases (and elected officials are stupid enough to agree to them) that are extreme enough to force layoffs in the new fiscal year. The only thing they have to be concerned about is how much they’re going to make.
So town officials and voters should ignore the whining about how grossly unfair it would be if the town does not settle with them before Town Meeting. Read about it here.
The problem with the unions is the same one that affects public employee unions everywhere - they think taxpayers work for them, not the other way around.
Union leaders - and some misguided officials - argue that the contracts ought to be settled before Town Meeting so voters will have the “information” they need to pass whatever property tax override is necessary to fund the contracts. And, of course, “the children” are trotted out once again as guilt-trip props.
What rubbish. Does a private-sector worker go out and buy a new home, a new car or make some other major purchase he can’t afford, and then present the bill to the boss so he will have the “information” necessary to provide whatever raise is necessary to cover it?
If officials want to ask voters to vote themselves a tax increase beyond what Proposition 2 1/2 allows, that’s fine. But they should ask. It’s a request, not an order. And elected officials should not obligate themselves to pay salary or benefit increases before they know how much money their bosses - local taxpayers - have given them to spend.