Decimating unions would hurt all workers

Especially in our region, organized labor built the middle class. But union workers do not just make steel or build skyscrapers. They are also our teachers, our bus drivers and our nurses. In my own office, they scrutinize our public accounts and make sure your tax dollars are spent as intended.

These may not be the jobs we imagine when we think of “union worker,” but they are essential to our communities. That is why the efforts to decimate the unions that represent public workers, argued before the U.S. Supreme Court in Janus vs. AFSCME last week, are so wrongheaded.

Janus is the culmination of a decades-long effort to destroy unions’ ability to fight for workers and their families. Higher wages, quality benefits,and strong worker protections negotiated by unions raise the bar for all workers, whether they belong to a union or not. The corporate interests that have pushed this agenda would benefit from the resulting decline in wages and benefits. Most workers would agree that in an era of stagnating wages and dwindling employer-provided benefits, we should not permit even weaker standards.

I applaud the workers fighting to retain their rights, and all those who fought to secure them for decades and generations before. We must continue to stand together now. The essential work that public employees do should be respected, not undermined by a corporate agenda that aims to make all workers expect less. CHELSA WAGNER

North Point Breeze

We welcome your opinion

Feb. 22 letter “An FBI Failure,” asks, “If there were no more guns produced from this day forward, do you think that schools would be safer?” This after writing how sometimes “you fought it out, then went separate ways” when he was in school.

There was the occasional schoolyard fight when I was growing up, too; guys (and sometimes girls) then went their separate ways. Nobody ended up dead.

On April 9, 2014, Alex Hribal walked into Franklin Regional High School armed with two knives, which he used to slash or stab 21 people. Unlike in Parkland, Fla., nobody ended up dead.

So yes, Mr. Wennersten, I do think schools would be safer were we to restrict the types of firearms that can be manufactured and distributed to the general public. There will always be what you call “mental cases.” Some families will fail to get them help either through disinterest or the inability to cope. And, yes, the FBI may sometimes fail to do its job. But we can limit the tragedies by denying access to military-grade weapons. Permitting the manufacture and sale of these weapons is our failure. WILLIAM PETERSON

Shaler

Net neutrality is the only reason the internet has advanced to where it is. Without it, internet service providers get to pick winners and losers and extort everyone to determine which is which.

The Federal Communications Commission should not be able to change this important feature on a whim based on lobbyist input, or by being chased by former representatives of ISPs or other carriers. The internet was designed for the common good, using public funds, and it’s dangerous to privatize it like this.

To keep America moving forward, the internet must be brought to everyone throughout the country, regardless of cost, so the best minds can work together to provide innovation, not only in STEM fields, but also in the arts. America’s union is what has made us strong for over 200 years, and bringing people together will only make it stronger. JOEL KIRCHARTZ

Brighton Heights