Too often, Democrats have been playing defense in the fight to preserve labor unions. What, really, have we done to help out the workers' strongest allies in the last half-century? Nothing. Absolutely nothing.
Oh sure, Democratic majorities usually guarantee that a state won't turn into a right-to-work (RTW) nightmare, and they don't usually take any especially egregious actions against labor unions - although events in Illinois with the teachers' union seem to be proving that statement inaccurate. Unfortunately, we've failed. As soon as a right-wing majority moves into a state, it invariably attempts to destroy public and/or private sector labor unions. The best example: Michigan, arguably the bedrock of labor unions in America, is now a RTW state.
As a consequence, labor union membership has dropped to levels not seen since the height of the Great Depression. Currently, around 12% of the workforce are union members. This is disgraceful.
People often wonder why western European nations tend to have such a high quality of life, with ample vacation, high pay, eight hour work days (for real, not in theory), benefits, and humane working conditions. Besides a politically engaged populace that is willing to fight for its rights against political encroachment, one of the main reasons is the high rate of union membership in most of these nations. In Scandinavian countries, union membership varies between 50% and above 80% of the workforce. This is the level of union membership that we need: The majority of the workforce, at the least.
So how do we get there? Join me below the Orange Seal of Doom.
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