Are We Losing Our Last, Best Hope?
Undeniably, it’s a terrible time for labor unions. Younger working people—men in their early and late twenties—not only believe that Ronald Reagan was one of the greatest presidents America ever had (because he “beat the Russians”), they blame labor unions for our economic woes. It’s true. They blame the unions for driving out so many of the good jobs.
Mind you, this isn’t Wall Street or the Chamber of Commerce talking this nonsense. These are regular working-class young people offering their opinions. And instead of viewing organized labor as the one institution capable of propping up the middle-class by offering decent wages and benefits, they’ve reached the unhappy conclusion that America’s unions are a detriment, not an asset.
How badly have things deteriorated? Just consider the well-publicized event that recently occurred in Maine. Paul LePage, the state’s Republican governor, was so opposed to the contributions of the American labor