The pro-union, anti-Propositions 1 and 2 testimony at Monday night’s (Aug. 25) Sequim City Council meeting provides a clear and inescapable reason of why the city council should immediately adopt both propositions.

The key here is collective coercion and greed, as exemplified by the testimony. Specifically, several speakers explicitly stated they could garner enough votes from retired unionists here such that they could “un-elect” and thereby oust council members who voted for the propositions — the implied extortion and coercion was purposeful and crystal clear.

And, by acknowledging their union wages would drop if either proposition were adopted, they also acknowledged that they are overpaid — i.e., that the same work would be done cheaper by non-union workers. A free and open labor market would make it this way — as it always does. This in itself is a clear example of organized greed — greed our taxpayers need no longer support.

The way it stands today, unionists — through closed negotiation and explicit political threats — have a direct conduit into taxpayers’ wallets and thereby maintain their greed at levels the real world rejects.

This is a conduit taxpayers shouldn’t have to support. Adopt Props 1 and 2 now.

Gerald Stiles

Sequim