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No one in my immediate family ever had the privilege to be in a union, but like most working Democrats, we always strongly supported the labor movement.
The first blip that I recall came in the 80s, with the Reagan years. A great number blue collar workers (many of them union, though not the unions themselves) became Reagan supporters. It suddenly put a rift between a certain segment of liberals and the working classes--one might say in practice, but not in theory. (We saw that again a bit during the 2008 primaries, and even presidential elections, with the vast majority of white males supporting the Republican.)
That settled down over the years. But as the labor movement continued to shrink, so did its influence to advocate outside of its own domain for better working conditions for the other 87% or so of American workers. Most working people began to lose all kinds of things: job security, benefits, etc. Then ... kabaaam. The recession hit. And people started to be laid off in large numbers. And resentments started to rise against what people perceived to be the relative security and benefits of union workers. They hear of all the pension problems states are facing, creating huge holes in the budget; they hear of help to retain public employees and teachers, but they have no one to protect them. Instead of wishing they were part of a union, they start to see the union as part of the problem. The health care debate only worsened things: people who had no health insurance felt they were being held hostage to demands to retain (hard-earned) high-end insurance plans. You have to understand how hard it is for people.
I can tell a personal story. Back in the fall I had the chance to see a cousin of mine who I get to see only once every 15 years or so. It was great. He's worked for the steel mills for a long time, and is of course a big union guy. He started to tell me about an illness he'd had the past year (pretty serious I guess), and how he'd been able to get a whole year off and didn't pay a dime of copay for any of his treatments, and would be able to ... etc. etc. And even I started to get a little miffed, recalling how during the summer my husband had to go back to work 3 days after suffering a fractured shoulder, broken ribs, and a punctured lung ... because, well, he had no choice. (He's in higher education, where they have no unions, and although it's not strenuous physical labor, it's hard work nonetheless to stand in front of a class for 3 hours lecturing when you have a hole in your lung and a painful fracture; especially when you've been on a pay freeze for two full years). I started to feel jealous, but I kept my mouth shut. But a lot of people face this.
What we need is more workers rights, not more fighting between unionized and non-unionized workers. But for all the many decades we supported unions, it feels like time that unions start thinking about other workers. I know that government hasn't helped this much in recent decades. But the solidarity has to be both ways.
I have a feeling this will be cyclical. The underdogs are no longer seen as the underdogs. But a new labor movement will arise some day. It will just be different. It will be young office workers who are putting in 60 and 70 hour weeks because their bosses require it.
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