Example. (surplus) labor power of the union worker (controlled by the local union hall which arranges the employment contract) is exploited to a certain extent by the wealthy owner, but on the other hand, the owner makes significant economic concessions to the union worker (through negotiations of the contract via the union hall). These are substantial concessions and typically will appear in the form of pensions, higher wages and safer working conditions. I would term this a symbiotic relationship. With such a symbiotic association taking place within capitalism, it is unlikely to imagine the development of class antagonism leading toward open warfare against the two economic classes (union worker and petty bourgeoisie).
I would not call it class collaborationism. I suspect the owners are good-natured toward the unions and even enjoy the company of union workers, and vice versa. If anything, symbiosis seems to be a more accurate word to describe the social relationships. I don't believe that Karl Marx could have predicted or imagined a symbiotic relationship between the proletariat and the petty bourgeoisie. Symbiosis wasn't developed as a scientific concept in biology in his day, and unions were in their infancy during Marx's time. But in this modern day, this is exactly what I think I am seeing here in a local workers' union.
To sum up, IMHO there appears to be a productive and symbiotic relationship between unions and the large commercial developments in industries where the union worker is employed.
Please comment!
Nathan Gant
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