> So you think Californians at large get to dictate terms to security guards? They shouldn’t get to negotiate their own terms?

Did I say any of those things?

No no, I think that there need to be dramatically fewer prisons, and dramatically fewer prison guards, and the union advocates exactly the opposite of that. That's not OK.

If you work 30 years in the industry and live for another 30 after that you are basically getting paid double per year worked without interest.

Getting the money upfront and investing it could be substantial, but thats still a much better negotiation than most Americans get for their jobs which are usually at most 40k without full pensions or almost any other benefit.

My grandmother is 86 and is infinitely grateful for her 25 years worked at a public university as a secretary. Those kinds of "obligations" are not large up front numbers but some people like the guaranteed security, at least up until austerity starts taking away the pay they were promised half a century ago.