The article cited in that blog or whatever from the Washington Post is interesting:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/busine...eiE_print.html

I think this quote says quite a bit:

"That’s how it was for Saundra Williams, who went to work for the city as a typist in the health department in 1968. She retired as a 911 operator in 1998 at age 48, and the city is obligated to pay her $24,000 a year for life.
“It’s great,” said Williams, who now works for the Michigan AFL-CIO. “But it also is not a lot to live on.


Rise up? Whatever.