This is in response to the letter from Steve Swan (Sept. 23), “Outlaw public sector unions.”

Swan suggested that public sector employees should not be allowed to unionize because, unlike the private sector employees, they do not negotiate with their employers to balance the interest of both parties and to reach common goals.

Unfortunately, the fact of the matter is that very few private sector employers welcome any form of unions and very, very few show a willingness to negotiate with their employees or show any interest to their needs, fair wages, decent working hours and a safe working environment.

A great majority of employees today find themselves without health insurance and will find themselves without a pension when they retire. Many employees find themselves fired from their jobs by simply exhibiting a desire to unionize in order to negotiate fairly with their employer.

Many employers have moved their businesses overseas where cheap labor is available, or simply to avoid paying their fair share of taxes in the U.S.

Treating employees as such is simply slavery by another name.

Those are the people and the entities that should be pursued by the legal system. They are the ones who don’t have the best interests at heart of the citizens of the state of Maine or the U.S., for that matter.

They are the ones that cause the tax bills of ordinary citizens to skyrocket by refusing to provide their own fair share.

They are the real “outlaws.”

Donald LaBranche, Lewiston