“The abuse of power by public employee unions is the main story of public failure in America- even worse, I believe, than polarization or red tape.” – Not Accountable
In 2021, another attempt at DC statehood passed the House vote, but as with every other attempt it failed, this time in the Senate. But such attempts fail for good reason. The Constitution was clear that the region known as the capital would be considered a district, but never a state. Filled with government employees, or suitors of government, it was important to maintain a neutral ground, not tainted by politics from either side. It was in 1790 when Virginia and Maryland ceded territory to create the federal capital of the country. And as we look at the state of federal unions, it is clear the same restrictions were also meant for them.
The federal government continues to be among the largest employers in the United States with over two million employees. Of those, more than 30 percent belong to a federal union, a rate five times higher than that of the private sector. As a result, in part, federal employees receive a total compensation package of nearly $150,000, far beyond their private sector peers.
Unions rose in response to the Industrial Revolution and the influx of workers to city centers, often in dangerous or uncertain working conditions. But unlike the prerequisite rise in productivity that capitalism requires, wages rose as a result of collective bargaining and not from an increase in economic wealth. Consequently, the private sector has proven time and again to be more cost-effective and accountable than the government ever could.
In Philip K. Howard’s 2023 book, “Not Accountable”, Howard reveals how, since John F. Kennedy’s Executive Order in 1962, allowing for the collective bargaining of federal employees, the government has become increasingly unaccountable to the public. In fact, Howard suggests that the unionization of federal employees is unconstitutional and that a policy change will greatly improve the government's responsiveness to the public. Having written extensively about the overall ineffectiveness of Washington, Howard’s focus here is on the problem of public unions.
Howard’s basis for the unconstitutionality of federal unions is the non-delegation doctrine and the guarantee clause under Article IV of the Constitution. The non-delegation doctrine prevents the delegation of powers to anyone other than elected officials, who are subjected to checks and balances, while the guarantee clause prevents the transfer of governing control to any class outside constitutional bounds. Howard suggests using Constitutional arguments to remove collective bargaining from federal employees by applying these clauses, as well as Article II which deems that executive power is vested in the president alone. A power that federal unions cannot override.
The unaccountability in government that federal unions have created has resulted in an ungovernable state. Unreasonable collective bargaining has led to unsustainable benefits and salaries, even bankrupting many state and local municipalities. In some instances, collective bargaining has allowed federal employees to retire with full benefits after 20-30 years on the job, forcing the public to not only finance their retirements but also that of their replacements. While federal unions create barriers to the firing of bad employees, their seniority-based system also removes any semblance of merit. Worse, federal unions have severed the link between voters and elected officials who are ham-strung by union contracts and statutes. Unions have too much control over the daily workings of government, often overriding important fixes to government.
Throughout history, many surprising figures have warned against the harm of federal unions negotiating against the public who are absent from the negotiating table. The founders opposed political employees and expected workers to be neutral. FDR notably said of federal unions “The process of collective bargaining, as usually understood, cannot be transplanted into the public service “. Even well-known labor leader George Meany criticized public unions, saying, “It is impossible to bargain collectively with the government.”
Despite these warnings, federal unions have become political kingmakers spending between 1 and 3 billion dollars every year with the lion's share landing in the pockets of Democrats. In fact, public sector unions, particularly teachers' unions, are one of the largest campaign contributors in the country. Federal unions are also a significant source of campaign workers, clearly breaching their fiduciary responsibilities to the public. Too many legal protections have given federal unions power beyond the intended scope of their duties.
The largest federal unions include the teacher's unions (the single largest financial block in the Democrat Party), AFSCM, SEIU, and police unions. There is a conflict of interest against their fiduciary duties when a federal employee acts politically. As Howard suggests, the best solution is a return to civil service where employees would not only be hired based on merit but expected to conduct their duties neutrally and professionally, for the benefit of all Americans.
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