Alexis de Tocqueville famously wrote that American exceptionalism was largely the result of our willingness to form “voluntary associations” to solve civic problems. And nothing better embodies this notion than the modern fire department, which started in the 18th century as a uniquely American institution.
Of the nation’s 1.1 million firefighters, 830,000 are volunteers. That so many people volunteer to protect their neighbor’s homes is a tribute to the American character.
But for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and other lawmakers on Capitol Hill, this volunteerism is a big problem. There’s little doubt many members of Congress wish that those 830,000 volunteer firefighters were replaced by unionized firefighters. That would mean more massive public employee unions funneling millions more in campaign cash to Democrats in Congress.
That’s likely one reason Reid has slipped the Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act into a Senate supplemental appropriations bill. Reid’s measure will force states to bargain collectively with firefighters, as well as with police officers and emergency medical personnel, on all terms and conditions of employment.
So much for federalism. Not all states permit public safety employees to bargain collectively — and for good reason. The city of Vallejo, Calif., recently filed for bankruptcy because it could not afford to pay the salaries of unionized public safety workers, which consume 74 percent of the city’s budget.
Few municipalities with unionized firefighters aren’t struggling with same problem. As it happens, the Las Vegas Sun reported May 20 that “Clark County Commission Chairman Rory Reid will seek to immediately disband some infrequently used Fire Department heavy equipment teams, a move aimed at reducing the department’s ballooning overtime costs.”
Rory is Harry’s son. And wouldn’t you know it, he’s running for governor. His name will appear on Nevada ballots right above his dad’s in November.
However, Rory has a problem. In fiscal 2009, his county paid out $14.1 million in overtime to the county’s unionized firefighters, and the average firefighter’s pay and benefits package tops $180,000. Clark County faces $196 million in deficits from the last two years. Cuts have to be made.
But it’s harder for a Democrat who cuts public employee union jobs to get elected than it is to sell bacon and tequila in Riyadh. Fortunately, Rory can lean on his dad in the Senate to give firefighter unions something they’ve always dreamed of — a chance to force the 830,000 volunteer firefighters out of their jobs and replace them with dues-paying members.
Now Rory can claim he’s making fiscally responsible decisions at home while running for governor and mollifying fierce opposition from Nevada’s public employee unions.
It’s a heck of a plan: Rory gets political cover for pretending to be fiscally responsible, Harry will likely get badly needed campaign donations from police and fire unions, and if the bill passes, all union-friendly politicians in Washington will get more dough as union coffers swell.
One should lament the obvious corruption here. But our politicians have long been captive to special interests — that’s nothing new, especially under the beating Las Vegas sun.
What’s particularly troubling is that politicians such as Harry Reid don’t think twice about supplanting America’s cherished voluntary associations with a system of government dependency and union coercion.
It’s bad enough that politicians take our money for this, but when they take away the institutions that best represent our American virtues — it’s unforgivable.
Mark Hemingway is a editorial page staff writer for The Washington Examiner. He can be reached at [email protected].
