Union Proud
My great-uncle Phil was a union organizer in New York between the wars. He later became a small-business owner in Los Angeles, but he never lost touch with his labor roots. Phil owned a nice, modest home in a pleasant, middle class neighborhood in Los Angeles. He passed away last year, having lived past the age of 100, and his home was later sold for an amount that I expect was far out of reach for most union members and small business owners. How did it come to this? Why is it that so many middle class Americans are struggling so much, and those who might be struggling a little less due to unionization have become a target? How does a politician advance his career on the backs of public employees, and find support among workers who’d rather tear down their fellow workers than challenge the economic policies that further enrich an extremely wealthy elite?
Workers rally on the steps of the capitol building in Sacramento, 2/22/11. Photo by Anthony Cody.
Maybe it’s a sense of family history, or maybe it’s a sense of being unfairly targeted, but recent events in
