Unfortunatly the pendulum in the private sector has swung too far away from the unions. Public sector unions here look at themselves as the last bastion of hope for organized labor and groups like the partnership and the republican party knows this and also knows if they can break the public sector unions then thier job will be complete, their mission succesful.
You can't support families on Nine dollar an hour jobs with no health care. But thats what it's come down to.
That is where the balance comes in to play. Private sector should be brought up to civil service standards, not vice versa.