I am a conservative Christian who is registered republican. Having said that I also try my best to be unbiased and non-partisan in viewing the current debate. Truth is the Republican party makes a huge mistake in explaining a way the "occupy Wall street" movement as just a bunch of fringe hippies. Yes, they are there as well as some paid left-wing radicals of every persuasion attempting to hijack the movement as did some with the Tea Party. In reality there are those who articulated what many in this nation including conservatives such as myself have felt for a long time. The deck is purposely stacked against the blue collar working person. That is just reality.

The average public employee pension is $26,000 anually, hardly extravagant. Only a few in High office or Administration receive the big pensions. That is not the case with the rank/file working stiff. Now COLA increases have been taken so I guess public employees will wind up on the government doll a few years into retirement. The misinformation out there about public employee pensions and benefits is legion. A contract is signed and agreed to by both parties. Both should be held to it.

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/07/26/shocking-video-of-inside-story-of-us-banking-scandal.aspx

I see some on here have bought hook line and sinker the tripe about unions. No they are not communist. In fact most union members are proud American citizens and veterans. I am a veteran, my dad and uncles were WWII vets and proud Americans. Remember Lech walesa and Soliderity in Poland. That union fought and destroyed Communism there. Unions like the CEOs and huge conglomerates lobby for those who support them and their families. Unfortunately the Republican party has sided against the rights of workers on almost every front. Politics always makes for strange bed fellows.

Putting unions aside, this is the issue: You take a job as say a Police Officer, Fire Fighter, Corrections Officer or public works. when you are in your 20s or 30s. You are taking the job based on a contract that you will receive a certain pension etc. when you retire. You work for 25/30 years, attend classes, in-service training regularly to advance, and are rated a good or excellent employee. You pay your share into the pension/medical fund. Then when you are a couple years away from retirement you are told that your pension will be cut and you must pay a large percentage for medical. Obviously you planned your retirement based on this agreement. Is this fair when it was politicians who misused the funds creating the shortfall?

Unions are needed now as much as the day they were founded. Since the secularization of this nation and the profit above all motto has been the mantra of most companies and bussiness conglomerates, concern for the worker and his family ala the "Golden rule" no longer seems to exists. Sure there are still some good fair companies but they seem to be the exception today. Since 2000 and the so-called free trade agreements 2.4 millions jobs have moved overseas to take advantage of cheap labor, escape taxes...another 2.9 million jobs have been cut here in the U.S. We can not compete with 3rd world developing nations. The playing field is not level here. Greed rules and the effects are being felt.

Balir: I don't know what union you are referring to but in the city I grew up the laborers union is aolmost exclusively black. Most other trades unions are proportionatly represented by Blacks. In fact under court order many unions now must hire a certain percentage of black. Maybe back in the 50s/60s there may have been some truth to that but unions always had a limit on taking in new apprentices regardless of race on a work availability basis. First preference was always to veterans and members relatives back then.

Kevin: They won't go back home because it is far worse there , obviously but that is not the point. My point is that much of what has happened to America's middle class/working stiif is directly attributable to the greed of big conglomerates, banks and CEOs who put the almight dollar/profit above all else. That includes the economy, workers families and decent paying jobs. What do you think hostile takeovers were about. Profit while jobs are lost and companies closed. I could go on....

Mr. West: You obviously don't know much about unions except for the negative hyperbole diseminated by those who would rather see them disappear. Who gains in that case? We all know the answer. Just ask any illegal mimmigrant working for sub-standard wages without the abilty to complain about conditions. In a perfect world we wouldn't neeed unions but greed and profit above all doesn't care about what happens to cities, or the country for that matter or they wouldn't be moving overseas where slave labor , lack of regulation and taxes is the draw while millions of Americans are out of work. I grew up in the inner-city also in the 50s &60s with a dad who was a WWII vet. Thanks to the Unions he was able to learn a trade and make a livable wage.

Study the hsitory of the unions my friend, starting with the Molly Maguires. The owners of the coal mines owned the houses, cared little about safety and worked the miners literally to death. Evey law on the books today that protects workers is as a direct result of UNION lobbying. Even those in non-union work places benefit. Do CEOs and large bussiness conglomerates not do the same to their benefit? Hiring teams of lobbyists? Do not wall street brokers on occassion use insider trading? Let;s face it, unions are a necessary check and balance against the same greed that takes companies overseas to take advantage of slave labor and lax environmental laws, cutting jobs here in the millions.