Secondly one group who will have to share the blame for this was the CP. Just as this sort of thing was gettings started they more or less forced through the merger of the AFL and CIO against the wishes of most of their own membership and of most of their own supporters. This was I think the greatest blow to the Amercian labor movement in the 20th century - and a big part of of what allowed the Truman/McCarthy era to suceed. Bascially the progressive unions merged with their deadly enemies, the reactionary unions, with the reactionary unions in charge. It was suicide for the left labor moveme, but an assisted suicide. Some left labor unions such as the UE remained (greatly crippled though by losing much of their membership) but the progressive labor movement was dead for many year; you can argue whether or not it has come back to life finally.