Boston Bombing: Who Saved the Victims? Union Thugs, Do-Gooders, and Bureaucrats

Boston police officers are associated with the Boston Police Patrolmen Association. Federal Bureau of Investigation Agents are associated with FBI Agents Association. Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms Agents are represented by the ATF Association. Boston Fire Department firefighters are represented by the International Association of Firefighters.

As a teaching hospital, the health care professionals for Boston Medical are public employees of Boston University. Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Beth Israel Deconess Medical Center, and Mass General Hospital are teaching facilities for Harvard University. Harvard is represented by at least ten unions.

American for-profit corporations are the greatest, most innovative agencies the world has ever known. They built the equipment used by first responders. They built the medical equipment used by the people who had the gruesome responsibility of finishing the severing of limbs started by the bombs, and they will build the prosthetics to help survivors walk again. But private companies, especially ones beholden to shareholders, are in the profit business. Their benchmark is their bottom line. They build in analytics all pointing to that one north star. Customer satisfaction leads to customer loyalty which leads to higher profits. Employee satisfaction leads to longer retention which leads to less turn over which leads to higher profits. Smarter technology leads to more efficiency which leads to reduced payroll which leads to higher profit.

But there just isn't any profit in running toward an explosion instead of away. There isn't any profit in burning through your entire overtime budget in one day and there isn't any profit in creating a human shield so one family can grieve in private.

We have unions, nonprofits, and public servants to do the things that can't be measured in dollars. Together and only together will we help the survivors and the families of the fallen.