Government against itself : public union power and its consequences

305 Pages·2015·2.767 MB·English

by  Daniel DiSalvo

GOVERNMENT AGAINST ITSELF

G OVERN M ENT
AGAINST ITSELF
PUBLIC UNION POWER AND ITS
CONSEQUENCES
DANIEL DiSALVO
1
1
Oxford University Press is a department of the University of
Oxford. It furthers the University’s objective of excellence in research,
scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide.
Oxford New York
Auckland Cape Town Dar es Salaam Hong Kong Karachi
Kuala Lumpur Madrid Melbourne Mexico City Nairobi
New Delhi Shanghai Taipei Toronto
With offices in
Argentina Austria Brazil Chile Czech Republic France Greece
Guatemala Hungary Italy Japan Poland Portugal Singapore
South Korea Switzerland Thailand Turkey Ukraine Vietnam
Oxford is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press
in the UK and certain other countries.
Published in the United States of America by
Oxford University Press
198 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016
© Oxford University Press 2015
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in
a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior
permission in writing of Oxford University Press, or as expressly permitted by law,
by license, or under terms agreed with the appropriate reproduction rights organization.
Inquiries concerning reproduction outside the scope of the above should be sent to the
Rights Department, Oxford University Press, at the address above.
You must not circulate this work in any other form
and you must impose this same condition on any acquirer.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
DiSalvo, Daniel.
Government against itself : public union power and its consequences / Daniel DiSalvo.
pages cm
Summary: “Daniel DiSalvo contends that the power of public sector unions is too often inimical to the
public interest”— Provided by publisher.
ISBN 978–0–19–999074–0 (hardback)
1. Government employee unions—United States. I. Title.
HD8005.2.U5D575 2015
331.88′1135173—dc23
2014020729
1 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2
Printed in the United States of America
on acid-free paper
To Daryl

CONTENTS
Acknowledgments ix
1
THE BATTLE OVER COLLECTIVE BARGAINING
IN GOVERNMENT 1
2
THE GOVERNMENT UNION DIFFERENCE 27
3
THE UNSEEN RIGHTS REVOLUTION 39
4
ELECTING YOUR OWN BOSS 57
5
THE DISTORTION OF DIRECT DEMOCRACY 93
6
GOVERNMENT LOBBIES ITSELF 111
7
THE PRICE
OF GOVERNMENT WORK 139
viii • CONTENTS
8
SPENDING MORE, GETTING LESS 161
9
SHELTER FROM THE STORM 183
10
A DAY OF RECKONING? 212
Notes 231
Index 277
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I could not have written this book without a lot of help from many quar-
ters. I’m blessed to have been challenged, inspired, and supported by many
friends and colleagues. And I confess to exploiting their kindness and
generosity.
I’m indebted to Fred Siegel, one of the great chroniclers of America’s cit-
ies. Fred is among a vanishing breed of New York intellectuals, the sharp-
ness of whose pen is matched only by the depth of his concern for his fellow
urbanites. He was the first to encourage me to explore the fascinating
world of public sector unionism. My City College of New York colleague,
Rajan Menon, read the entire manuscript and provided enormously help-
ful feedback. His willingness to wrestle with a subject far from his own
interests and guide me around numerous pitfalls went far beyond the call
of duty, collegiality, and even friendship. Terry Moe of Stanford University
provided me extensive comments on the manuscript and took the time to
engage me in a long-running email correspondence. Terry’s outstanding
work on teachers’ unions in particular and public sector unions in gen-
eral has shaped my thinking on these subjects. Martha Derthick of the
University of Virginia helped me frame many chapters, offered sage advice
about the book’s organization, and pointed me to many helpful sources.
My book is a vain attempt to live up to the brilliance of Martha’s analyses
of the politics of public policy.
The Manhattan Institute of Policy Research has generously supported
my research on public sector unions. I have learned a tremendous amount
from the institute’s senior fellows and staff. These include but are by no
means limited to Larry Mone, Howard Husock, Michael Allegretti, Brian
Anderson, E. J. McMahon, Nicole Gelinas, Steve Malanga, Steven Eide, and