funny how when the public section unions get 8-9% raises nobody complains, but when public sector union employees get 3-4% there's hell to pay, eh? but I don't beleive that honoring your agreements to your employees should be the first thing to go when you have a lot bigger slice of the pie than you think going to people who do not work, but feel entitled to a lifestype that would make many people blush.
When you depend on the taxpayer for your salary, you also deserve to be at the whim of said taxpayers when they discover that your generous salaries and benefits are bankrupting the state. Right to work states like Florida and Texas, where the public employee unions have little power, have switched toward defined contribution programs and greater employee contributions toward healthcare. Socialist states with strong public employee unions (NY, NJ, CA) will, unfortunately, likely go bust before they force the bureaucratic leeches off the gravy train.
The days of getting full health benefits and 85% of your bloated salary will go bye-bye eventually, as those of us who bust our butts in the private sector are getting sick and tired of our blood getting sucked by the vampire state, and the bureaucrats who serve it.