There's actually some interesting research to back that up -- though, they don't come to the conclusion that Stern does. E.g., Dorothy Sue Cobble argues that you need different kinds of unions modeled after something other than the industrial unions. Research on people who service others in various capacities shows that the struggle on the restaurant floor, on the cashier's mat, etc. plays itself out as a struggle against the customer with the worker seeking relief by siding with management's rules to protect themselves against the demands made by customers.
Robin Leidner's _Fast Food, Fast Talk_ Greta Foff Paules, "Dishing it Out" Vicki Smith's work in an ish of Sociology of Work about 10 years ago (too lazy to look it up) Selected essays in Michael Burawoy's _Ethnography Unbound_ Dorthy Sue Cobble, "Dishing it Out"
Totally unrelated, sorta: Interesting local story: a police sergeant fired when she went out drinking with subordinates, a couple of whom sprayed whipped cream on her at the bar and licked it off.
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