How Unions Could Do Much Better
The International Association of Machinists just succeeded in
negotiating a humiliating defeat with Caterpillar after a 15-week
strike. Workers lost considerable money by striking, and then lost even
more with the new contract, accepting almost every concession the
company demanded despite the fact that the company was sitting on a
record $4.9 billion in profits. The union let scabs cross the picket
line and failed to stop production, almost guaranteeing defeat.
In the wake of this debacle, one might ask: Are unions doing
everything possible to defend their members? As many union members are
beginning to recognize, the answer is a resounding “No!”
What Unions Are Doing Wrong
For example, the unions have locked themselves into a losing
strategy. Like the psychotic who keeps repeating the same behavior while
expecting a different outcome, the unions obsessively throw most of
their resources into electing Democrats to office, thinking these
politicians will bestow generous favors on unions in return. Rather than
depending on themselves and putting up a fight, unions sit back and
hope the Democrats will save them. However, once elected, the Democrats,
who have accepted even larger campaign contributions from the 1%,
demand concessions from public workers, they shower tax breaks on the
corporations, and they conclude by cutting public education and social
services to those that need them.
This unholy alliance between unions and Democrats is connected with
a second fatal flaw that many unions exhibit. They have adopted the
philosophy that politics is a dirty game – a dog eat dog world – where
everyone who has the money lobbies politicians and showers them with
generous campaign contributions to win favor. This is what is called
“realpolitik,” where politics is based on money and power, not
principle. It is why, when it comes to budget cuts, the poor are always
the first to suffer the loss of programs that serve them: they can’t
afford the campaign contributions nor the expensive lobbyists. By
descending to this level rather than exposing and criticizing this
sordid ritual, unions isolate themselves from the general public, not to
mention from other unions that are engaged in the same practice, and
they demoralize rather than inspire.
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