I continually see negative commentaries about unions. Many people express resentment that union members (especially state worker and teacher unions) have excessive perks that the general population cannot obtain.

Their anger is directed toward the wrong place. In the past, unionization raised the bar for all of us. It was union organization that set the standard of an expectation of health insurance, paid time off, sick days, vacation days, limited work hours, etc. Unions created a standard of living that didn’t exist before Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Since the Reagan era, economic policies, not unions, have threatened our standard of living. Jobs have gone overseas. We confront national debt, deregulation, illegal wars, CEOs getting multimillion-dollar bonuses as they fire workers, tax breaks for the rich, corporate welfare and an increased burden on the middle class to sustain this.

We should all be demanding that our standards be maintained, as the unions are trying to do, rather than blaming the last bastion of the American Dream. It is our complacency that is allowing our middle and lower class to be raped by the policies of the officials that we elect.

RICHARD FORBES

Warwick