[lbo-talk] Unions: Resuscitate or pull the plug?

Doug Henwood dhenwood at panix.com
Wed Mar 8 05:47:25 PST 2006


Nathan Newman wrote:


>I always find these discussions kind of bizarre-- unions not only directly
>have $5-6 billion annually in income, but they indirectly control or
>influence trillions of dollars in private and public pension fund monies.

Except that the law severely limits what they can do with that cash - and sometimes leads unions to make alliances with shareholder rights types whose interests are fundamentally anti-working class.


>We can all debate how the unions can more effectively use those resources,
>but even talking about ignoring such a level of social resources verges on
>the unreal.

Finally something we agree on! There just cannot be a revival of "progressive" politics in the US without some renaissance for organized labor. I don't really know what form this could or should take, but it has to take some form, or American politics will just get suckier.

Doug



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