Unions aren’t the fiscal problem here

While personnel costs no doubt represent a big part of the budget and thus appear to be an easy target, I disagree that city workers should be “the real budget issue” (Editorial: “It’s time to take on the unions,” June 11).

As a life-long union member who also understands the positive role of collective bargaining in the well-being of working people, to the betterment of our society and economy, I find your naked hostility offensive.

As a practical matter, pay and pensions are set by contracts already in place, I assume — contracts mutually agreed to, let’s remember. Any concessions will need to be agreed to as well, and bludgeoning doesn’t seem like a good negotiating tactic to me.

Worker pay and benefits didn’t cause our current fiscal nightmare. I would rather pay higher fees and live with temporarily curtailed services, provided cuts are fairly and rationally applied, than push city workers back down the economic ladder. That will only exacerbate the economic slump and delay recovery.

Roberta Medford

Montrose