Standing Up for AFSCME Members

by AFSCME President Gerald W. McEntee  |  January 15, 2010

On December 12, the international news magazine The Economist published a misinformed article calling public employees “coddled” and “spoiled rotten.” The article mistakenly blames hard working public employees for the challenges state and local governments face in the recession. President Gerald W. McEntee wrote a strong response, defending AFSCME members from misplaced attacks on their pay and benefits, and standing up for the rights of workers to bargain for better benefits and wages.

Valued workers

SIR – That you regard public-sector workers to be “coddled” and “spoiled rotten” because of their health-care benefits and pensions says more about you than the workers (“Welcome to the real world”, December 12th). You even distorted the evidence, claiming that public employees earn more than those in the private sector. As the Bureau of Labour Statistics makes clear, when comparing pay within occupations public employees do not receive more than their counterparts in the corporate world.

We believe that all American workers deserve decent health care and a secure retirement. The decline of unions in the private sector is one reason why those benefits are not shared by more families. Contrary to what you might think, it is not government employees who brought the American economy and state and local budgets to the brink of disaster. Rather than attack public employees for negotiating good contracts, we should expand the ability of all workers to bargain for better wages and benefits so that they and their families can share in the American Dream.

Gerald McEntee

President American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees
Washington, DC