In South Beloit, Illinois, a two-member police union is very unhappy. The two members, both sergeants, have registered an unfair labor practices complaint with the Illinois Labor Relations Board against the town.
Now, we have dealt with many unions, most of which represent large numbers of employees in various kinds of industries. One would think that two police sergeants, who formed their tiny union which resembles a marriage more than a labor union, would be able to work out their disagreements with the town of South Beloit. But in this era where adversarial relationships generate the most heat, very few individuals want to negotiate their differences.
In small towns, where everyone knows everyone else, one can only wonder why the two sergeants were not able to discuss their disputed benefit packages with the town council. The town council simply wanted the two offices to pay 5 percent more of their health care benefits and not to roll over their vacation time to the following year.
One can only be surprised that this earth shattering issue hasn’t caught the attention of John Sweeney, head of the AFL-CIO.
