Employees, at times, have legitimate gripes with employers and have the right to push for better conditions – as long as their tactics to gain leverage don’t compromise the services they provide to the public.

The Capital Times reported this week that state troopers in Dane County issued 58 percent fewer citations in the last three months than during the same period the year before. Citations in neighboring Rock County also showed a dramatic decline of 41 percent. The Dane County Sheriff’s Department, meanwhile, increased its number of citations over that same time period.

Reporter Steven Elbow linked the decline to labor issues, though no one spoke on record to that effect. Glen Jones, president of the Wisconsin Law Enforcement association, said the decline is not deliberate but is probably the result of low morale caused by eroding pay and other conditions – which are indeed points of contention in troopers’ contracts.

At least 20 troopers are on some form of economic assistance as a result of eroding pay, Jones said.

There is also a shortage of troopers on the road, which, he said, could be contributing to the decline.

As government employees who are performing difficult and dangerous tasks, state troopers should receive appropriate pay. A shortage in troopers is also an alarming condition. But an issue like not having a long enough lunch break (the troopers receive two 15-minute breaks) cannot be considered a dramatic “morale buster” as Jones argues.

Regardless of trooper complaints, most of which are legitimate, any decline in traffic enforcement and roadway assistance is unfair to Wisconsin’s taxpayers. Additionally, if numbers continue to slump, the state may be inclined to provide even less funding, believing the troopers aren’t deserving of more money. If the decline in citations isn’t deliberate, troopers should do their best to prevent morale from affecting their performance.

State troopers, it appears, are already losing out until their labor negotiations yield some results. There’s no reason the public should have to lose out as well.