It was politically feasible for Republican President Richard Nixon to engage China because he had impeccable anti-communist credentials. Similarly, Chicago's Democratic Mayor Rahm Emanuel can take on his city's unions without creating a firestorm because of his party's alliance with organized labor. Major change appears to be afoot in the windy city. As PSI has been documenting, Mayor Emanuel has more than any other politician in the nation directly raised the issue of how unionization in the public sector can compromise government productivity. He has taken on the teachers' unions and sanitation workers over inefficient work rules. (By a long shot, Chicago has the most expensive trash disposal system among large city in the country). Other unions are nervous that they might soon find themselves in the sights of a mayor bent on achieving efficiencies in government. However, Emanuel has not tried to change collective bargaining rules or weaken the unions' political clout in other ways.
Besides the unions themselves, there has been little protest from other
groups on the left or criticism of the mayor in the media. Emanuel has
suffered none of the vitriol directed at the Republican governors of
Wisconsin, New Jersey, Ohio, and Indiana. One might speculate that as a
Democrat, Emanuel has more credibility and room to maneuver, much like
Nixon had in opening relations with China.
Nonetheless, Emanuel's record raises the issue not just the cost of collective bargaining in terms of compensation of public employees but also in terms of productivity. It is a very difficult one for social scientists to directly and rigorously measure and has consequently received less scrutiny. But it is very real and many agency managers cite it as one of their biggest concerns. That Emanuel is trying to improve public services is not altogether surprising, as he emerged from the New Democratic faction of the Democratic Party, which in the 1990s was interested in "reinventing government."
Nonetheless, the mayor's actions along with those of Republican governors suggest that there is a bi-partisan drive to reform public sector labor relations. Who will ultimately prove better at providing quality public services at prices taxpayers can afford remains to be seen.
Nonetheless, Emanuel's record raises the issue not just the cost of collective bargaining in terms of compensation of public employees but also in terms of productivity. It is a very difficult one for social scientists to directly and rigorously measure and has consequently received less scrutiny. But it is very real and many agency managers cite it as one of their biggest concerns. That Emanuel is trying to improve public services is not altogether surprising, as he emerged from the New Democratic faction of the Democratic Party, which in the 1990s was interested in "reinventing government."
Nonetheless, the mayor's actions along with those of Republican governors suggest that there is a bi-partisan drive to reform public sector labor relations. Who will ultimately prove better at providing quality public services at prices taxpayers can afford remains to be seen.
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