Last week's debate in the special Senate election in Massachusetts shows a sharp contrast in the positions of the two candidates hoping to replace new Secretary of State John Kerry. Democrat Edward Markey and Republican Gabriel Gomez differ greatly in their views on the rights of government workers. Markey gave a spirited defense of the collective bargaining rights of first responders and others who work for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. 

The key quote:

We have a Department of Homeland Security, but these workers are given the respect that they need. When they rush into the World Trade Center, when they're rushing towards these victims on Boylston Street, no one checks to see whether they're in a union or not, and I don't think that stripping them of their ability to negotiate was the way for us to construct the Department of Homeland Security.

Gomez supported a Republican provision that would have stripped the Department of Homeland Security employees from the right to collectively bargain and to have a voice on the job. 

Working America also points out three ways that Markey and Gomez are hugely different.