Boston Review — Thomas Kochan: Protective Bargaining (Wisconsin, labor union protests)

Boston Review — Thomas Kochan: Protective Bargaining (Wisconsin, labor union protests)
"The heated debate in Wisconsin was predicated on the governor’s claim that, thanks to their collective bargaining rights, public-service employees are overpaid relative to similarly educated workers in the private sector. Economist Jeffrey Keefe and others have done the comparisons at both at a national level and within states such as Wisconsin and found that public-sector workers nationwide earn 11.5 percent less than their similarly educated private-sector counterparts in wages and salaries. Taking fringe benefits into account shrinks the difference to 3.7 percent, with pensions and health care benefits the two standouts. So, despite their greater benefits, public workers actually cost their employers less than private-sector workers do."