I dont think the mafia runs the labor unions anymore lol, you cannot take a handful of anecdotal stories about government corruption and use them to invalidate the idea of having a government at all, also there are several jobs that would be considered "labor" jobs that deserve 6 figures and more, elevator mechanics, antenna repairmen, many specialist labor positions require more years in school to get certificates than a doctor or a lawyer need to get a degree
If you want too build a road, then the government can build it. The fantasy idea that governments are by default corrupt, and that some corporation will come in and somehow magically solve all of our problems combined with this demonization of public workers, the idea that their labor is by default less valuable than their private sector counterparts, that they are quite literally their "servants" is the textbook definition of neo liberalism. The reaganomical idea that just by privatizing public services even roads and bridges is why America's infrastructure (as well as a number of other things) have fallen apart over the last 30 years
What the hell are ranting away about, here?
You're not even close to be on-topic with my posts.
Let's get specific:
Unskilled laborers (think the guys that dig ditches, carry pipes, haul stuff around a work site, sweep and clean-up, etc.) get nearly 45 bucks an hour. And being utility persons, they make up a substantial amount of the workforce. They get time-and-a-half over 8 hours a day or 40 hours a week, and double-time over 10 hours a day or 48 hours a week. They get 14 paid holidays, and if they work a holiday they get paid double-time.
Due to the nature of their work, there's virtually always some weekly overtime; consequently, they are doing a little over six figures. Even just straight-time puts them pushing six-figures!
After 10 years they are pension eligible and vested at 50% of their last worked year's salary. At 20 years, they're considered fully vested at 80% of salary. They get a minimal 1/2% addition for each year past 20 to the max of 85% at 30 years. This pension is for life along with the medical benefits, and gets an annual COLA allowance of around 2.5%, though this last item varies.
Even at a minimum 50% 10 year service pension, a laborer gets 50k a year plus COLA raises, and will pull-out a million plus in cash alone (plus additional medical benefits) if he lives the average U.S. lifespan. If he dies, his wife gets the pension (at half rate) until she dies.
The laborers are generally the lowest level wages of working labor, with the skilled trades going into the low to mid 50's (an hour), though for some reason the truck drivers are a little under the laborers' rate even though they are well represented by the teamsters.
The streetsweepers we discussed earlier are actually classified as operating engineers at 55 an hour!
So please tell me again why the city's civil servants need six-figure salaries with million dollar pensions and extraordinary benefits, as the city and state go broke with these pensions and the struggling taxpayer can't cough-up any more in property taxes?
I would really like to know why you believe government employees should be compensated much more than the working taxpayers doing the same work in private industry?
(I'll view the Chomsky video in a bit - thank you for posting it)