Collective Bargaining Teaches Democratic Values, Activism
Some people must have been startled by President Obama’s decision to draw a line in the sand on collective bargaining in his jobs speech to the Congress last week. Specifically, the President said: “I reject the idea that we have to strip away collective bargaining rights to compete in a global economy.”
Given the current anti-union tenor of many prominent Republicans, started by Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, it seems pretty clear that worker rights is shaping up to be a hot-button issue in the 2012 campaign. Collective bargaining rights as presidential campaign plank? It wasn’t that long ago that anything to do with unions was considered to be an historic anachronism – hardly worth a major Republican presidential candidate’s trouble to bash. Times have changed.
In that context, President Obama’s very strong defense of collective bargaining is noteworthy, especially because the somewhat prosaic process of collective bargaining is the heart of trade unionism. It is at the bargaining table that workplace power is balanced, and the voice of employees is heard. It is where, as huma