Open thread for night owls: Turning our backs on unions

At the Campaign for America's Future, Dave Johnson writes:

We, the People were supposed to be in charge here. The economy was supposed to be for our benefit and we were all supposed to get a slice of that pie we all baked together. But (as always throughout history) wealthy interest were able to dominate, "influence" the lawmakers and enforcers, and grab what they could get for themselves. Our system fell down because it didn't control the ability of a few wealthy people to gain power over the rest of us.

Unions gave regular working people the power to get the share of the pie that democracy promises. Before unions came along to enforce the promise of democracy working people didn't get their share of the prosperity that democracy promised. After unions working people did. Before unions we had 12 (or more)-hour workdays, seven days a week. Before unions we had low pay. Before unions we had no benefits. Before unions we certainly didn't get vacations. Before unions we could be fired for no reason. Before unions a wealthy few were able use their wealth to pay off influence legislators and keep the rules bent in their favor.

Unions organized people into power blocks that forced changes that brought a larger share of the pie to We, the People. Unions are a vital part of the system of democracy because they give regular people the power to confront the wealthy.

One thing [The New York Times Op-Ed columnist Joe] Nocera wrote: "Company managements don't pay workers any more than they have to"'actually, I would change "don't" to "can't". Companies can't pay workers more than they have to. And they can't provide health insurance and benefits and good working conditions and all the other things we wish they would do.

Here is what a lot of us don't get about corporations: it isn't the corporations that are the problem, it's the playing field that is the problem. If one corporation can get away with paying its workers less, then they all have to. They don't have a choice. When one company finds a competitive advantage the rest of the companies have to respond or risk being driven out of business. They really do not have a choice. One company can't pay better than the others. We, the People have to make them all pay better. It's called making the rules. We are supposed to be making the rules, not them. And when we are not making the rules, the system stops working.

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