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Good for Nothing Unions


A police union in Peabody, MA managed to get a clause in their new contract that requires September 11th to be a paid holiday.  This strikes me as a purely opportunistic grab at pay raises for its members and not, as the union claims, a way to honor what happened in 2001.

As you may know, September 11th is not a national or state holiday.  Police officers in New York City do not receive any additional pay for working that day, despite being the first responders.  Why, then, should Peabody, MA police receive such a raise?  Peabody is more than 230 miles from the where the World Trade Center towers once stood.  They were not among the first responders, although they did send a contingent in the days following.  None died, yet the union claims that its officers deserve a raise.

The union claims that it is to memorialize that day.  Bull—-.  This is nothing more than a shameful example of union abuse.  What is wrong with an annual memorial service?  A plaque?  A statue?  A scholarship fund?  Nothing.  But get a union involved and look what happens.  No one should be better off as a result of what happened on September 11th, but it seems the police union doesn’t care.

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