[WS:] I suspect that there might be more risks than that. As I see it, unions are rather unpopular, even among what passes for liberals. It appears that many today's liberals have more in common with libertarians than with what liberals used to be: pro-business model, free market, and individual liberties and responsibilities, suspicious of collective bargaining, "nanny state" and most things social. This is at least an impression that I get from talking to people in the DC- Baltimore area (which tends to me more liberal than the rest of the country.) I may add that this also seems true of Europe - the professional and academic classes there seem more libertarian than old-style liberal - although I would love to hear more about it from EU lbo-sters.
But other than that, I am very disappointed with Dems not willing to stand for collective bargaining. It is not only cowardly, but also suicidal - with the unions gone, the Dems will be reduced to a junior affiliate of the Republican Party if they survive at all.
Wojtek