Christopher Prandoni, Executive director of the Alliance for Worker Freedom, has written a letter urging Senators to oppose the Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act (PSEECA), S.3991, which would force state and local governments to collectively bargain with firefighters, police officers, and other first responders:
"Apart from distracting from the critical tax debate, the PSEECA is bad labor policy that warrants opposition in its own right. Infringing on states rights, local leaders are forced to implement unwanted policy. Many states have chosen to bargain with first responders discrediting the claim that states are impeding their constituents’ bargaining preferences.
Since the establishment of the National Labor Relations Act, Congress has respected our federalist system by allowing states to determine whether or not they would like to collectively bargain with public employees. S.3991 would overturn seventy years of labor precedent and undermine capable state governments.
Allowing unions to bargain over employee hours, wages, benefits and condition of employment ultimately leads to inflated costs for goods and services. Necessitating spending increases would only compound states and localities budget woes. Given the deficits most states face, it would be entirely irresponsible to pass the PSEECA.
With private sector unionization declining and public sector unionization skyrocketing—a majority of all union members are government workers—union’s existence is dependent on the American taxpayer. This new reality is the impetus for legislation that looks to facilitate unionization on the state and local level."
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