Paid parking would be a big mistake Union contracts great equalizer for women

It appears that the city of Saratoga Springs plans to implement parking meters/paid parking. I believe that this is a mistake.

No one I have spoken with in Saratoga, where I visit daily, wants paid parking.

In the 1960s, I witnessed the city of Troy’s introduction of parking meters and watched as businesses failed when people stopped going to Troy because they would not pay to shop. The downtown suffered and only decades later is now slowly recovering.

With the influx of new downstate residents and the rapid urban development of the downtown area, Saratoga Springs is rapidly losing the small town charm, which made it special. It is developing a fast paced urban mentality. Although not now a resident of the city, I once was, and I feel it would be a shame if a minority opinion prevailed which would ultimately harm the beloved city. I am in staunch agreement with those Saratoga Springs residents who wish to curb overdevelopment, which would include parking meters. Tony Bourassa Round Lake

As recognition of Pay Equity Day – the symbolic day dedicated to raising awareness of the gender pay gap -- swirled around social media last week, a metaphorical light bulb flashed for me in one of those “Eureka!” moments.

As a woman and a proud paraprofessional in public education, I remembered that my union contract ensures that I am paid the same as a man for doing the same work. While April 10 symbolized how far into 2018 most women must work in order to earn what men earned in 2017, my union at the Washington-SaratogaWarren-Hamilton-Essex (WSWHE) BOCES ensures that there is no gender wage gap. Wage equality and fairness between men and women in the workplace are written into the rules – my union contract.

My contract does more than provide me with equal pay, however. It also ensures that I am paid fairly and able to live with dignity. As a certified teaching assistant in an Alternative Learning Environment in Saratoga, I’m far from rich but I can pay my bills, sock a little away for the future and enjoy an occasional evening out with my family – my little piece of the American dream.

The National Women’s Law Center has researched the pay equity gap. Not surprisingly, it finds that union membership boosts wages for all workers, but women in the workplace see especially large advantages from signing a union card. In fact, female union members typically earn $224 more a week that women who are not represented by unions.

My union contract as a member of the SaratogaAdirondack BOCES Employees Association also provides me and my family with good health benefits and the guarantee of a secure retirement – something I believe that every American worker should have.

Perhaps most importantly is the voice that belonging to a union gives me. My union contract ensures that my colleagues and I have a seat at the table, and that labor and management work collaboratively to identify problems and develop solutions that are good for workers; good for the taxpayers and the community, and which benefit students in the five counties our BOCES serves.

The rich and powerful don’t want workers like me to have that voice. Nor do they want workers to earn good salaries and traditional pensions. The wealthy elite and big corporations want a race to the bottom so they can take more for themselves. They are funding an attack on unions and workers that is now before the U.S. Supreme Court.

I’m not scared. If I’ve learned one thing as an active union member for more than 30 years, it’s that when union members stick together and stay united, they are stronger than any billionaire or big corporation. I’m confident that my colleagues and I at the Saratoga-Adirondack BOCES Employees Association understand that equality and fairness in the workplace depends on us all sticking with the union.

We know that, in the words of Hall of Fame rocker Bruce Springsteen, “Unions have been the only powerful and effective voice working people have ever had in this country.” And, we know never to argue with The Boss. Sandie Carner-Shafran Saratoga Springs Letters should be e-mailed to letters@ saratogian.com. Letters should be around 400 words long and include the author’s name, address and phone number for verification purposes.