I totally agree with everything he says. And I am working on developing a union at my workplace. However, he skirts the issue of how in the last elections many union members voted for Trump, and how the Teamsters Union refused to endorse Harris, even after Biden proved to be one of the most pro-union Presidents in history and even bailed out the Teamsters' pension. So yes, support unions, but unions have to support pro-union parties as well.
King soopers went on strike this week in Colorado. I always try to honor a worthwhile strike but maybe I'll go up this time and ask the first three strikers I see if they voted for Trump for President. If I get 3 "yes" responses, I'll cross the picket line and tell them why.
Well said. At the time I was bewildered but now feel furious that the Teamsters refused to endorse Harris. One wonders how the current mass firings are sitting with the members who drove that decision.
I agree with your observations and had the same question about the teamsters after reading the essay. If unions refuse to support democracy, there is no hope.
Podhorzer acknowledged the less-then-perfect record of unions in supporting democracy, and any organization can be domination oriented and corrupt if not forced to be transparent and stay within guardrails. Still, strengthening unions is an indispensable pillar if we want to restore democracy.
The seminal question is are the union leaders following their constituents, or are the constituents following their union leader? You probably have a good answer to this question.
And that is another problem that must be remedied. As a masters prepared nurse, I have resisted unionization for 50 years. However with the complete corporatization of healthcare in the country, I am finally there! Yes unions are one of the only remedies left to preserve/amplify the voice of those producing the product, in the case of healthcare…women’s voices need to be heard.
As usual your essay is so insightful and valuable - deepest thanks for your work and your courage. I'd like to add that for those of us not in the workforce or not in a job where there is the possibility of unionization right now there is an analog to unions that we have not pursued in recent decades - powerful, dues based membership organizations whose power is in vast numbers who can be mobilized and dues to underwrite the work. The largest example of this is sadly nowhere to be seen - when older people's social security and Medicare payments and private information are at risk - is AARP. That said, the AARP model could work if millions of Americans who want to fight to restore democracy each paid dues to a new membership organization. I know AARP and the model intimately and in the past I've said that it couldn't be done again for a variety of reasons - but at this moment I think there's is an opening for creating something that borrows from that model and from trade unions.
I called AARP and asked them why they weren’t joining lawsuits to protect seniors. I am encouraging others to do the same. Write comments on AARP’s social media posts too. I’ve also encouraged people to contact professional groups and prod them to action. Make your voices heard in many places.
I am grateful for labor unions. My dad worked for a union company and had great medical and dental insurance benefits and better than average wages. My mom worked for the church as a part time worker and baby sat for my nieces and nephews and other children in the community so she was on my dad’s insurance plans. When she was diagnosed with cancer she had the best treatments that insurance could provide. When one has cancer getting the best treatment makes a huge difference. Being able to get regular screenings for various diseases on a timely basis matters greatly. We need to fight for our labor unions and support the policies and the party that are pro worker and pro union.
Trump and Musk seem to agree on some basic principles: They value people solely on the basis of their net worth. If you are poorer than they are you deserve to be demeaned, exploited, and humiliated. Their goal seems to be to deprive working people, especially the working poor, of any benefits from the government. The role of those [people is to work for low wages in order to increase profits for the owners. If they are deprived of things like Medicaid or SNAP, they should take a second, low wage job — or get sick and die.
The only people Trump respects are people who have the money he envies. Those assholes, led by Musk, but also the tech bros, and the billionaires in the cabinet, manipulate the hell out of him. They have no compunctions about screwing everyone in the world. That’s how they get to feel important.
My dearest wish at this moment is for all those billionaires to take a nice long trip to Mars and leave the rest of us poor lesser beings to fend for ourselves.
I really enjoy being a Contrarian! Ms. Key, I agree wholeheartedly. In fact, in my dismay that AARP is nowhere to be seen, I am going to get busy and find out why not. Hate to reinvent the wheel. Maybe we need a “Union of the People who Will Protect Democracy.”
While I agree that Unions, along with States, can serve as a significant break on authoritarianism, one should be careful about what the unions, as institutions, consider their interests to be. Unions in the US right now often function a lot like special interest groups, focused as much on narrow institutional interests as on broad worker protections. Significant institutional union activities revolve around increasing membership and protecting political leverage. As an example, unions in Oregon have for years have stymied attempts to reform the State’s pension system, which is practically bankrupting small towns. So, yes, please bring the unions front and center, but remember to be wary of any large institution with its own agenda.
Back in the 1970s I was working at Stanford University Hospital as an ICU nurse. We were trying to gain more professional respect by forming a union. I was earning less than $6/hr when grocery baggers were being paid $11/hr. The first lawyer we consulted thought our goals for a living wage were unreasonable. “After all” he said “you’re just nurses.” We found someone else and created CRONA, the Committee for the Recognition of Nursing Achievement.
The nurses and hospitalist doctors union for a major hospital chain where I live just won a major victory after striking for a month. The chain includes the nearby hospital where my partner and I (and all our friends) would go if we needed anything but a major operation best provided at the university hospital. Last month two major grocery chains went on strike also for about a month and the employees won. I can't imagine any of these employees voting Republican. When it comes down to it while absolutely ALL politics may not be local, enough of it is to swing a close election.
Sad to say, but the working class folks who either stayed home or voted for Don the Con got exactly what they were asking for, even if they didn't realize they were asking for it. I'm trying to be sympathetic to people who did that, but it's hard.
I am afraid I am past sympathetic. All of this was out there and Joe certainly showed he was pro union. We have had a two and a half year project on our street involving sewers, a pumping station, sidewalks, etc now finished. It would not have happened without federal money picking up part of the costs. I listened to a few of the workers and also unfortunately, what they listened to on the radio. I would say a good number of them, maybe most of them, either voted for death star or did not vote. All the scut work was done by Hispanics.
All we have now is who we can unite moving forward. Was I angry at Trump voters and people who didn't vote? Sure. Will I welcome them to the resistance and support everyone's right to do what it takes to strengthen the unified bond needed to fight the dismantling of our government? Absolutely.
This only addresses one side of the equation. We need to address the "concentrated wealth". We also need to balance the budget. The fix is obvious. Start with a 60% income tax on the top tax bracket for both individuals and corporations and set the rate to decline once the budget is balanced.
Amen! I've been waiting for somebody to pipe up about the power of striking! I don't belong to a union but I think the American people can make our own union and get the hell out on the streets. I wish somebody wouldn't organize us a little bit more aggressively. Somebody with a bully pulpit. The other thing is quietly unmentioned is the supreme Court. Maybe the bar association can dysbar these guys can they function in the supreme Court if they are disbarred?
The importance of trade unions for countering oligarchs can be traced back to the Industrial Revolution, as Brian Merchant explained in his book on the Industrial Revolution, "Blood in the Machine: The Origins of the Rebellion Against Big Tech". The British government at the time forbade and punished any attempts at worker unionization or even informal collaboration, but the government turned a blind eye to entrepreneurs colluding against workers when the same law applied to both workers and business owners.
To think that we have the corrupt and owned Thomas and Alito where we once had the magnificent Brandeis. Dystopian disaster and humiliating failure of SCOTUS to serve the people and the Constitution.
I totally agree with everything he says. And I am working on developing a union at my workplace. However, he skirts the issue of how in the last elections many union members voted for Trump, and how the Teamsters Union refused to endorse Harris, even after Biden proved to be one of the most pro-union Presidents in history and even bailed out the Teamsters' pension. So yes, support unions, but unions have to support pro-union parties as well.
King soopers went on strike this week in Colorado. I always try to honor a worthwhile strike but maybe I'll go up this time and ask the first three strikers I see if they voted for Trump for President. If I get 3 "yes" responses, I'll cross the picket line and tell them why.
Well said. At the time I was bewildered but now feel furious that the Teamsters refused to endorse Harris. One wonders how the current mass firings are sitting with the members who drove that decision.
I agree with your observations and had the same question about the teamsters after reading the essay. If unions refuse to support democracy, there is no hope.
Podhorzer acknowledged the less-then-perfect record of unions in supporting democracy, and any organization can be domination oriented and corrupt if not forced to be transparent and stay within guardrails. Still, strengthening unions is an indispensable pillar if we want to restore democracy.
This is a new concept brought to the forefront by a Fascist takeover in America. An America first.
We all must try to figure out how to build such a Union, and then DO IT!
The seminal question is are the union leaders following their constituents, or are the constituents following their union leader? You probably have a good answer to this question.
As usual, follow the money.
Good point. But let's face it: those union voters were predominantly MALE.
And that is another problem that must be remedied. As a masters prepared nurse, I have resisted unionization for 50 years. However with the complete corporatization of healthcare in the country, I am finally there! Yes unions are one of the only remedies left to preserve/amplify the voice of those producing the product, in the case of healthcare…women’s voices need to be heard.
And white.
As usual your essay is so insightful and valuable - deepest thanks for your work and your courage. I'd like to add that for those of us not in the workforce or not in a job where there is the possibility of unionization right now there is an analog to unions that we have not pursued in recent decades - powerful, dues based membership organizations whose power is in vast numbers who can be mobilized and dues to underwrite the work. The largest example of this is sadly nowhere to be seen - when older people's social security and Medicare payments and private information are at risk - is AARP. That said, the AARP model could work if millions of Americans who want to fight to restore democracy each paid dues to a new membership organization. I know AARP and the model intimately and in the past I've said that it couldn't be done again for a variety of reasons - but at this moment I think there's is an opening for creating something that borrows from that model and from trade unions.
I called AARP and asked them why they weren’t joining lawsuits to protect seniors. I am encouraging others to do the same. Write comments on AARP’s social media posts too. I’ve also encouraged people to contact professional groups and prod them to action. Make your voices heard in many places.
I just texted them!
We very much need to look into this. Time is of the essence.
I am grateful for labor unions. My dad worked for a union company and had great medical and dental insurance benefits and better than average wages. My mom worked for the church as a part time worker and baby sat for my nieces and nephews and other children in the community so she was on my dad’s insurance plans. When she was diagnosed with cancer she had the best treatments that insurance could provide. When one has cancer getting the best treatment makes a huge difference. Being able to get regular screenings for various diseases on a timely basis matters greatly. We need to fight for our labor unions and support the policies and the party that are pro worker and pro union.
Trump and Musk seem to agree on some basic principles: They value people solely on the basis of their net worth. If you are poorer than they are you deserve to be demeaned, exploited, and humiliated. Their goal seems to be to deprive working people, especially the working poor, of any benefits from the government. The role of those [people is to work for low wages in order to increase profits for the owners. If they are deprived of things like Medicaid or SNAP, they should take a second, low wage job — or get sick and die.
The only people Trump respects are people who have the money he envies. Those assholes, led by Musk, but also the tech bros, and the billionaires in the cabinet, manipulate the hell out of him. They have no compunctions about screwing everyone in the world. That’s how they get to feel important.
My dearest wish at this moment is for all those billionaires to take a nice long trip to Mars and leave the rest of us poor lesser beings to fend for ourselves.
Perhaps they should recall that there are more firearms in this country than people.
I really enjoy being a Contrarian! Ms. Key, I agree wholeheartedly. In fact, in my dismay that AARP is nowhere to be seen, I am going to get busy and find out why not. Hate to reinvent the wheel. Maybe we need a “Union of the People who Will Protect Democracy.”
While I agree that Unions, along with States, can serve as a significant break on authoritarianism, one should be careful about what the unions, as institutions, consider their interests to be. Unions in the US right now often function a lot like special interest groups, focused as much on narrow institutional interests as on broad worker protections. Significant institutional union activities revolve around increasing membership and protecting political leverage. As an example, unions in Oregon have for years have stymied attempts to reform the State’s pension system, which is practically bankrupting small towns. So, yes, please bring the unions front and center, but remember to be wary of any large institution with its own agenda.
Back in the 1970s I was working at Stanford University Hospital as an ICU nurse. We were trying to gain more professional respect by forming a union. I was earning less than $6/hr when grocery baggers were being paid $11/hr. The first lawyer we consulted thought our goals for a living wage were unreasonable. “After all” he said “you’re just nurses.” We found someone else and created CRONA, the Committee for the Recognition of Nursing Achievement.
The nurses and hospitalist doctors union for a major hospital chain where I live just won a major victory after striking for a month. The chain includes the nearby hospital where my partner and I (and all our friends) would go if we needed anything but a major operation best provided at the university hospital. Last month two major grocery chains went on strike also for about a month and the employees won. I can't imagine any of these employees voting Republican. When it comes down to it while absolutely ALL politics may not be local, enough of it is to swing a close election.
Sad to say, but the working class folks who either stayed home or voted for Don the Con got exactly what they were asking for, even if they didn't realize they were asking for it. I'm trying to be sympathetic to people who did that, but it's hard.
I am afraid I am past sympathetic. All of this was out there and Joe certainly showed he was pro union. We have had a two and a half year project on our street involving sewers, a pumping station, sidewalks, etc now finished. It would not have happened without federal money picking up part of the costs. I listened to a few of the workers and also unfortunately, what they listened to on the radio. I would say a good number of them, maybe most of them, either voted for death star or did not vote. All the scut work was done by Hispanics.
All we have now is who we can unite moving forward. Was I angry at Trump voters and people who didn't vote? Sure. Will I welcome them to the resistance and support everyone's right to do what it takes to strengthen the unified bond needed to fight the dismantling of our government? Absolutely.
This only addresses one side of the equation. We need to address the "concentrated wealth". We also need to balance the budget. The fix is obvious. Start with a 60% income tax on the top tax bracket for both individuals and corporations and set the rate to decline once the budget is balanced.
We don't need to balance the budget. We do need to pay our bills when they come due. Totally agree with the rest you wrote.
Amen! I've been waiting for somebody to pipe up about the power of striking! I don't belong to a union but I think the American people can make our own union and get the hell out on the streets. I wish somebody wouldn't organize us a little bit more aggressively. Somebody with a bully pulpit. The other thing is quietly unmentioned is the supreme Court. Maybe the bar association can dysbar these guys can they function in the supreme Court if they are disbarred?
The importance of trade unions for countering oligarchs can be traced back to the Industrial Revolution, as Brian Merchant explained in his book on the Industrial Revolution, "Blood in the Machine: The Origins of the Rebellion Against Big Tech". The British government at the time forbade and punished any attempts at worker unionization or even informal collaboration, but the government turned a blind eye to entrepreneurs colluding against workers when the same law applied to both workers and business owners.
Wow this is really good. Unions also have the power to hit corporations right where it hurts; in their pocketbooks.
I hadn't thought of AARP and others like it in that manner and it seems to have great potential.
What would be the next practical step in doing this?
To think that we have the corrupt and owned Thomas and Alito where we once had the magnificent Brandeis. Dystopian disaster and humiliating failure of SCOTUS to serve the people and the Constitution.
How sad that some unions bashed Biden and so many members voted for Trump