“They lied to their members,” Mr. Sweeney said. “When I say lied, I mean it. They lied.”
That is only a slight overstatement. The labor movement has many laments and many wounds, more than a few self-inflicted. Some pension provisions were undoubtedly piled too high. And union leaders wheedled special deals and remained silent as governors, Republican and Democrat, declined to pay into the pension system.
Labor leaders and politicians, no less than arbitragers and Goldman Sachs partners, relied on magic bubbles to keep it all afloat. The line between illusion and lie grew indistinct.
But Monday offered a through-the-looking-glass moment of a sort, seen across the nation, as middle-class union members became improbable symbols of a recessionary era brought on by Wall Street financiers.
“Shared sacrifice” is a phrase often repeated, though only the latter of the two words is honored. Governor Christie, like the Democrat Andrew M. Cuomo in New York, has played bulldog for the wealthiest, insisting that he will not extend a so-called millionaire’s income tax surcharge.
In Deal Changing Unions’ Benefits, Truth Is Scarce but Betrayals Abound - NYTimes.com
No comments:
Post a Comment