A More Perfect Union Buster

A man does a good turn to a genie. As reward, the genie offers to grant one wish. "I am a very powerful genie. If you wish it, I can put an end to HIV or world hunger. I can stop global w—."

"Abolish the unions!"

That's the reaction I would expect nowadays if that man happens to be a Republican officeholder. (Such sentiments may or may not be held by rank-and-file R's.) A GOP elected official may praise hard work; but let the working man try to organize, to accumulate power, and he will find that governor or legislator to be a savage enemy.

There seems to be something more than politics going on here. It's true that unions (with the occasional exception of the Teamsters) have supported Democrats at the polls. But other parts of the Democratic coalition don't seem to evoke nearly so much Republican wrath.

It's also true that unions have not always accomplished a public good. The auto unions have taken part in the dismantling of the American auto industry, and some of the failings of American schools can be placed at the feet of the teacher unions. It would seem that any trace of greed in the heart of a laborer is a very bad thing. (And yet greed in the hearts of executives and entrepreneurs is not merely a natural thing, but the very engine that makes our economy go! Amazing!)

I'm trying to work out the psychology of this whole mess.

Perhaps, as society becomes more and more unequal, the powerful become more and more jealous of the diminishing strength of the not-powerful. We will finally get through this bad stretch when the rich control everything!

Perhaps, deep down, many of the powerful sense their own lack of legitimacy, and that suspicion adds to their rage against anyone who would challenge their power. (I doubt this theory, though. I think that a great many people who have lucked into wealth are convinced that their riches testify to their inner virtue.)

Whatever the motivation, the Republicans seem to be pushing for a final, utter victory over organized labor. Earlier this year in Wisconsin, Governor Scott Walker went all-out against the public unions—and got his nose bloodied. And because of the messiness and uncertainty of the legislative process, the Republicans seem to be pursuing a second strategy: Pack the courts with pro-corporate, anti-union ideologues. Regardless of the law today, I foresee the day when judges rule that concentration of power in the hands of corporate executives is an absolute good, while concentration of power in the hands of workers is an absolute evil.

And this will be done without the aid of a genie.