Fighting the good fight

Nevada has largely avoided the public-sector protests that have gummed up legislatures across the country. That’s in large part because lawmakers in other states have been much more aggressive than their counterparts in Carson City in attempting to reform generous state worker compensation and retirement packages.

Consider New Jersey, which should be a model for Nevada and other states whose taxpayers can no longer afford to give away the store to public employee unions.

On Friday, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a Republican, celebrated passage of a bill requiring state workers to contribute significantly more for pension and health benefits. The measure also placed some limits on collective bargaining and is expected to save the state $130 billion over the next 30 years.

The deal required the support of a handful of courageous Democrats, who broke ranks with the party orthodoxy after realizing the current system was unsustainable.

“When everybody in 2025 is still collecting their pensions, they should be looking for me and (Democratic leaders in the New Jersey Legislature) to say ‘Thank you.’ Because this was not easy,” Gov. Christie told The Associated Press.

As expected, protesters — apparently unaware that many of the private-sector workers who pay their salaries, benefits and pensions have been struggling to survive the ongoing recession — tried to disrupt the legislative proceedings and had to be escorted out by police.

And then there’s Connecticut, where a Democratic governor has learned the hard way that even making nice with public-sector union bosses is no guarantee that the rank-and-file will recognize economic reality.

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, “who has prided himself on being more pro-union than some of his Republican colleagues across the country,” The AP reports, was shocked Friday when government workers voted to reject a concessions package designed to help the state cover a massive deficit.

Rather than make the same sacrifices that their private-sector brethren have been making for the past three years, Connecticut’s government workers chose to give the taxpayers a loud Bronx cheer.

The “pro-union” Gov. Malloy will now have to lay off as many as 7,500 state employees.

Is anybody in Carson City watching? Let’s hope so.