After I read the article about the Loyalsock Township teachers' contract dispute Nov. 1, I was compelled to comment. Uniserv representative, Cary Kurtz, is doing his job. However, unions are bleeding us to financial death.
It has been decades since scenarios as portrayed in books like "The Grapes of Wrath" made unions necessary. Unfortunately, we did not foresee that unions could eventually become our detriment. Union workers are blanketed by legislation that allows them to continue to increase benefits and salary with each contract beyond the saturation point.
Counterparts in the private sector (majority of taxpayers) are trying to keep their jobs with each contract. Also, they are burdened with paying their own health insurance and retirement benefits with nil to minimal increase in salary.
Taxpayers accept the obligation to educate our students. They should not be burdened with paying most of the outrageous cost of health care, retirement benefits and a guaranteed increase in salary with each teacher contract especially realizing none of these gains themselves!
James Bolton
Montoursville
