those customers are the people we SERVE. we are not indentured to them; therefore, they are NOT our employers!

if you are inferring that i never worked beyond the confines of my public employers, you would be WRONG AGAIN! i cut my teeth in the private industries of insurance and healthcare! at the tender age of 21 i was flown around the united states and canada - as a representative of the corporate office - where i conducted salary surveys and developed compensation plans for corporate and branch offices. i had considerable impact on the earnings of every employee in those private sector offices - and indirectly on you and how much your insurance policies cost you! and after working in a private hospital as the 2nd in command of h.r. and employee relations, i realized that retirement security lay in the public rather than private sector. thus i accepted the salary and benefits cut and sought refuge in the playground of state employment!

so there!