OK, let me step back a little because you and loveithere and tony are insisting on talking about private sector unions.

If you are a blue collar employee or a lower echelon employee for a corporation, there is a good chance that you are expendable to that corporation. It's a good chance that you are a face in the crowd easily replaced.

Now, you organize and become a "union" of employees and you have some power. Now you have grievance and arbitration rights when your employer wants to discipline you in some way. It can no longer be frivolous. I can go into intense detail on all aspects of union life having spent my entire life working as a union employee. Surprised?

But, as a union employee I worked for a union that boosted my standard of living in the halcyon days of intense economic growth and prosperity. My company made money and we made sure we got our rightful share in terms of wages and benefits.

Now, with the economic downturn and changes in the way we can organize, the landscape has changed. In order to survive my union has made major concessions because of the new economic order and we've adjusted work rules and compensation, and even reworked our own union pension plans to preserve some semblance of a dignified retirement when that time comes. That time has also been pushed back to a higher "full retirement" age.

Does that sound like anything the public sector will do? Ha ha ha ha ha.......