Dear Editor:

During this past midterm election, nationwide public and private sector employee unions desperately put everything they had, tens of millions of dollars in union member dues, into trying to defeat union/tax reform governors-elect Walker in Wisconsin, Kasich in Ohio, Scott in Florida, and Rauner in Illinois, and failed spectacularly. 

The union bosses were terrified because Mr. Walker famously reformed collective bargaining in Wisconsin, Florida’s Mr. Scott signed tenure reform and pay evaluation for teachers, and republican Bruce Rauner defeated incumbent Pat Quinn largely by campaigning for public sector pension reform and the repeal of tax increases. Has the myth of organized labor’s power been shattered, at least for the time being, and will their very existence be threatened by other governors-elect such as Paul LePage?

Not so fast, Grasshopper! Note that all of these gubernatorial elections (including LePage’s) were still very closely decided by virtually identical margins, simply because there is still a large and growing number of voters who depend directly on government employment and/or public welfare benefits for their livelihood (compared with the shrinking number of private sector working taxpayers who are paying all the bills). Unfortunately, it will take just a few more well intended government programs, agencies, and jobs to create a permanent voting majority that will easily control both sides of the management/employee (read: elected politicians/electorate) "bargaining table”  and it's lights out.

Phil Molvar

Southport