Reality of Labor Day 2011 Demonstrates the Necessity of Public Workers

ALBANY, NY (09/02/2011)(readMedia)-- The truth about disasters is that they bring out the best in people and help us to see the things we often take for granted in a different light.

The devastation caused by Hurricane Irene should be clear evidence why we need smart, dynamic, caring and dedicated public workers on the job every day. The way CSEA and other public workers are responding should demonstrate the necessity of effective government because it helps real people in real places.

In the wake of Irene, it will be a long time before many communities come back to anything approaching normal life. It will take a lot of work by a lot of different people at every level of government working alongside utility workers, the private sector, relief organizations and individuals to effectively respond to the emergency and then rebuild. By necessity, government and public workers are responsible for the public safety, first response and coordination of relief activities.

The front-line workers deserve our respect and appreciation. Many of them were out in the storm trying to keep people safe, protecting the infrastructure and preventing bad situations from getting worse. Many were doing this even as their own families and homes were at risk.

There are many other public workers who are also invaluable in disaster response who work behind the scenes helping prepare and then assisting individuals, businesses and communities to recover. Their work is just as essential and they also deserve to be recognized for what they do to make lives better.

Many other public workers also worked through the storm and beyond in health care facilities and other human service activities making sure people in need could weather the storm and get needed care and protection. Service like this is too often taken for granted.

The best time to prepare for a crisis is before it happens. That doesn't just mean days or even weeks. It can mean years with ongoing planning, anticipation of all possibilities, and investment in maintaining, replacing and building roads, bridges, dams, water and sewer systems and so much more. It also means investing in people and the know-how to do the job right.

It's become fashionable for some in recent years to bash government and public workers. That's misguided and counterproductive at best. Public service is about the common good. Running it down hurts us all.

Of course we need good leadership and effective management at all levels of our government. But we also need to have an adequate, trained and equipped work force to do its necessary work, day by day, and still prepare to respond to emergencies and the next disaster, because there will always be a next disaster.

On this Labor Day 2011, there is a lot to think about in our country and our world and few easy answers. But in very simple terms, we should thank those in our public work force who keep us safe, try to help people and make our communities better. We should also recognize the importance of having them on the job.

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