A couple links to public sector union stuff

I'm not really sure how I feel about public sector unions as a general matter. But being a liberal, I felt obligated to see if there was something to the widely-held view among conservatives that they are a bad thing.

So here is an informative article on that subject from the Fall, 2010 issue of National Affairs, written by Daniel DiSalvo: The Trouble With Public Sector Unions

And if you're looking for a reason to really hate public sector unions, read this article from the L.A. Times: California Prison Guards Union Called Main Obstacle to Keeping Cellphones Away from Inmates

It's actually worse than the headline makes it sound. It seems pretty clear that prison employees, who regularly smuggle phones into prison, do not want to have to stop smuggling phones into prison because they can make up to $1,000 per phone. And their influence is enough to keep the legislature from criminalizing smuggling phones into prisons.