County Strike

You read about some of Ventura County’s service employees going on strike and you can’t help but think how lucky they are. Being union members affords them the ability to walk away from their jobs knowing they cannot be permanently replaced. What’s more, existing as part of the government machine makes it virtually impossible to fire even the worst, least important of the lot.

There are no better weapons one can have when more money and benefits are being sought. Sadly, the county workers’ real employers aren’t afforded any of these same protections.

Contrary to the beliefs of the striking employees, the Board of Supervisors is not their employer. The board is merely a group of people chosen by a majority of the taxpayers to manage the county’s affairs. And when taxpayers feel they are not getting the best bang for their buck, they can’t strike; a whole host of government workers is waiting in the wings to seize everything they own if they don’t pay their taxes. Heck, if they are late on their payments, the government even posts the taxpayers’ names in the local papers for all their friends to see!

Unlike the employees who got their jobs without a vote, the supervisors have to answer to the public. As the unavoidable disruptions of striking employees begin to exact their toll on county services, the Board of Supervisors will get the obligatory, ignorant complaints from their constituents and be pressured into knuckling under. The “workers” will get their new freebies and the private-sector cash cows will quietly cough up the added costs. It’s really quite a remarkable scam!

Bruce Roland

Ojai