I’ve been following the situation in Wisconsin for the last week or so and although it’s something that many of my conservative friends don’t understand, I have a soft spot for Unions.

I also admire and respect those who are teachers. A year or so ago I volunteered to drop literature for a day in support of the local school levy. I don’t mind paying more to have our children educated. The teachers in Wisconsin seem to be singled out in this fight, although the situation deals with most public employees.

My admiration for Unions is because my father was a Union man. Back in the 60s my standard of living went up considerably when my dad joined the Operating Engineers Union – and we traveled while he worked on jobs all across the Midwest. I attended eight schools in seven years.

My dad built bridges and interstates. Have you ever traveled on Interstate 80? My dad worked on that road. How about I-70? Yes, he worked on that one, too. How about I-29 and I-35? Yep. Bridges across the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers were part of his experiences as a “Union” man in the late 60s and early 70s.

Then he got sick. But his Union did not cast him aside – they helped him. They found him jobs to do that were less physical than running a crane or a motor grader.

One time, they put my dad on the picket line to picket a company who fired their union workers and hired scabs to run their heavy equipment (with no experience). The company also hired security guards to protect these workers from people like my dear old dad who stood 5’10″ and weighed about 165 pounds. I still have the baseball bat my dad used to “defend” himself against the security guard, who decided to go “all John Wayne” on my dad and his fellow union members by pulling his gun.

When my dad passed away, his Union provided my mother with a check each month until her death.

When I was younger and out of work, I happened to be hired by company to run a bulldozer. When I showed up, the owner of the company told me this was a non-union company and he’d fire me if I tried to “organize” a union. My job, I was told, was to be on that bulldozer when the sun rose and stay on it until the sun set. There were no holidays and we worked Saturdays. I was to be paid $7.00 per hour no matter how many hours I worked. If, by chance, my bulldozer broke down I was expected to work on it, but my pay stopped. The only reason I stayed the whole day at the job was because my vehicle was across the river and I would’ve had to walk about 10 miles to get to it, or swim. When I arrived at my vehicle late that night, I quit. The next day I told the state labor department about the “requirements” for the job.

My dad told me, “That would not happen on a union job.” He was right. Many of the rights that non-union workers have today were fought for by the Unions.

I don’t agree with all the tactics used by Unions, and many times I don’t agree with their politics, although in the past I belonged to a Union for short while and my wife presently belongs to a Union.

Unions are substantially weaker today than 25 years ago, but to take away the public employees’ right to collective bargain in Wisconsin is nothing but Union busting.

Maybe you agree with the Union or find yourself agreeing with the Republican Governor of Wisconsin. Wisconsin faces a $3.6 billion budget deficit and that is a fact. Wisconsin reduced taxes and that is a fact. The Legislators in Wisconsin were also the ones who gave the public employees these benefits – the benefits did not just fall out of thin air. The financial crisis this country is facing just brought it into the spotlight.

It appears the public employees have agreed to pay more for their benefits and pensions, but they don’t want to have their collective bargaining rights taken away.

That seems like a good compromise to me. The attempt to bust the Unions can be left for a later date.

By the way, if you’ve read this, then you really should thank a teacher…