U.S. Public Sector Labor Policy
The public sector comprises the largest section of organized labor in America and continues to grow. Educators, nurses, police officers, and government employees have become heavily unionized or involved in other professional organizations. Although most of the major pieces of labor legislation exclude public employees, they will be increasingly important to understand them as governments continue to outsource administrative, strategic, and other professional work.[1]
Employees who engage in collective bargaining use a variety tactics causing slowdown, shutdown, or sick-ins. While the private sector can absorb these tactics, the public sector cannot. Often, key employees such as police or firefighters will strike at critical times, putting the public at a severe detriment for their own greed. Millions of dollars and lives are in the hands of Americas civil servants, thus effective public policy affecting collective bargaining is important to the success of the nation. The largest public sector union is organization is the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) which covers employees of local and state governments, has a membership of 1.3 million and dates back to 1936.[2] Unionization is strong at this level with some 60 percent of eligible public employees belonging to a union or other professional organization. [3].
Putting U.S. Public Sector Labor Policy on the Agenda
The issue has been put on the national agenda because of the ability for public sector unions to mobilize a bloc vote and the threat of a strike should they become unhappy with using political conditions. Public employees have bolstered their organization for both reasons involving pay and working conditions. Safety has always been a key bargaining point for many unions, especially those in hazardous occupations. Strikes are very dangerous to the public sector because they often involve first responders or employees in key positions. » Read more: French Vs American Labor Law and Policy
