Dear editor,
John Caddell Sr.'s desire for social equity is admirable, but his suggestions for achieving it are misdirected (Public-sector unions must go, record, July 27).
A race to the bottom, with the lowest wage for everyone except the rich, is not a way to distribute wealth more fairly. In fact, as total union membership has decreased, income disparity has correspondingly increased.
Nor is the privatization of public services a cure-all. Sure, the workers end up earning less, but the taxpayers typically pay more because of the required profit margins for the private contractor.
Our grandfathers fought for fair wages, shorter work weeks, workplace safety, and human rights. I am not a union member but I live in a society greatly enriched by their efforts.
If we swallow the propaganda of the neo-conservative boardrooms and their media pundits, we would quickly return to a Dickensian existence of poor huddled masses and the well-off few.
It seems that we're already seeing the beginnings of that disintegration.
Unions might not be perfect organizations but their elimination would be catastrophic to improving social equity.
Tom Pater,
Courtenay