David: Here in Boston, our police department is gearing up to do just that. They are planning to picket (not strike actually) during the Democratic National Convention when it will be here at the end of July. Government workers (I'm biased, because I am one now) are people, too. They have the same responsibilities as those in the private sector.) I would agree that the type of services that provide are one-of-a-kind, but nonetheless, government can always hold that over their heads and they'd never get a raise. The power of a union is therefore, its option to encourage its membership to strike if certain demands aren't met. Of course, money is the most popular, but other issues could be at stake, too. (Remember the UPS strike? It almost sent the country into a panic!) > Not better or worse but just better. As far as I > know, there hasn't been a > federal government union go on strike since then. 'Better?' I'm not sure. This industry is so heavily regulated, yet when a crash occurs, finger pointing happens such as TWA 800 and the B-737 affair and the commuter a/c at Charlotte, although it looks like man-made error (over-loading) Businesses often cut corners when under the gun by competition. And I believe that sometimes, those corners involve safety. Happens in all industries, sadly. I also recall that it was discussed as an option that private air traffic controllers to handle the nation's air traffic in the longer term. It sounded like Reagan thinking; outsource. Keep government small. Interestingly, the exact opposite happened after 9/11 and the federalization of security screeners. Mike Burris Cambridge, Mass > Yes, I know this is somewhat off-topic: Why > shouldn't government workers be able to > go on strike? Because most government services are > provided as a monopoly > or near-monopoly. Look at air traffic control. The > vast majority of services > are offered only by the government. There are some > private air traffic control... __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Friends. Fun. Try the all-new Yahoo! Messenger. http://messenger.yahoo.com/