Don’t upset the unions — or else

Two weeks ago, we described how the town of Flint, Mich., was hit with an arson wave on the day local officials were set to lay off a few dozen firefighters in an effort to close a municipal budget gap.

Flint's angry mayor made it clear he thought the spate of fires was anything but a coincidence.

Later, when city officials sought help from fire departments in surrounding suburbs, many refused to respond.

Then there's the story Friday out of New Jersey. The state faces a multimillion-dollar budget hole, and new Gov. Chris Christie has proposed reductions in salaries for public school teachers and other public-sector workers.

That prompted one teacher union leader to send a memo to his local affiliates. "Dear Lord," the memo read, "this year you have taken away my favorite actor, Patrick Swayze, my favorite actress, Farrah Fawcett, my favorite singer, Michael Jackson, and my favorite salesman, Billy Mays. I just wanted to let you know that Chris Christie is my favorite governor."

Nice.

And now we have the same thuggish mind-set manifesting itself in Las Vegas, where municipal and county officials are grappling with justifying the healthy salaries of their public-sector work force at a time when the local economy is in the tank and they can't balance their budgets.

County Commissioner Steve Sisolak has been particularly vocal in advocating union concessions, especially among firefighters -- many of whom earn six-figure salaries and generous benefits. That apparently prompted Las Vegas firefighter Joy Sager to post on her Facebook page a note about wanting to "shoot Sisolak in the (groin)."

Sure, some of this may just be an expression of lighthearted frustration -- although the Flint fires indicate something far more nefarious. But it should also give taxpayers an idea of the risks inherent in upsetting the powerful public-sector unions -- and how important it is to support politicians come election time who are willing to accept those risks.