The other six are elected to staggered four-year terms by Calpers beneficiaries and, in practice, come from public-employee unions.

There are very few public-employee unions in New York who you could realistically expect to go on strike, but this union is one that could.

In 1962, President Kennedy signed an executive order giving public-employee unions the right to collectively bargain with federal government agencies.

Joe Klein also blamed indulgence of "protected" ethnic groups - and public-employee unions.

He has been far too eager to please public-employee unions by doing an end-run around collective bargaining and imposing new obligations on the city.

Mr. Weicker pushed the public-employee unions even harder to embrace the income tax.

It is a longstanding tradition in Albany for public-employee unions to ask the Legislature for benefits they fail to win at the negotiating table.

It's about how public-employee unions have used "bare-knuckles politics" to push pension benefits to unsustainable levels.

The newspaper is a frequent critic of the demands of organized labor, especially public-employee unions, arguing they compel governments and businesses to spend beyond their means.

The Debate Begins Not surprisingly, public-employee unions and human service groups that depend on public funds call for casting a wider tax net.