The thread in which some have been discussing politics and criticizing some for not being aware of what (what we might call) "big" politics involves has an unwieldy name and covers other ground as well. So I made a new subject line for this post.
We live in a dehumanizing and exploitive economic system. It would seem to follow that the politicians at the top of the political parties that have controlled the U.S. government from the beginning are unlikely to be all-out for the working class. By the time a politician has risen to, say, a high post in state government, he or she has already been vetted by those who wield economic power, including those in the major media, and deemed safe to advance further or considered safe for the post already attained. In U.S. history there are very rare exceptions to this.
If we next consider how politics is done at high levels, this is a matter of trading favors, feeding the people bullshit, and serving mainly those with economic power. And all the while, lining one’s pockets or setting the table to do so when one retires or gets turned out of office. To believe that the sophistication of politics at this level is qualitatively different than that at, say, a university is not tenable in my opinion. Same kind of backstabbing, cooptation, lying, conniving, you name it, that goes on in all politics. Radical change isn’t really possible, but progressive changes can sometimes be won by mass, rank-and-file activism.
How is union politics as practiced at high levels of most of our unions any different? In the U.S. look at SEIU, the AFT, the NEA, and building trades union, the UAW. Deals, enormous salaries, cooperation with the employers, corruption, again, you name it. Read Gregg Shotwell’s Autoworkers under the Gun and tell me about democracy and worker power. Check out what happened to Jerry Tucker, a radical leader in the UAW. Check out Cesar Chavez and the racket his union has become.
In Canada, check out the exchange by the admirable labor radical Sam Gindin and his former chief, Robert White, once a fine labor leader but now proven just another “sophisticated” “pragmatist.” These people will always tell you, “Fella, you don’t know what it’s like at the top. I have responsibilities you cannot imagine. And blah, blah, blah.” How do we sell this bag of shit to the members or to the people? That is what is really going on. And never believing that the "base" is smart enough to lead themselves or be privy to what actually happened.
Yes, building radical political movements and democratic rank-and-file unions is remarkably difficult work. I just don’t see what the Democratic Party or the leadership of the unions have to do with either. Or why someone who has spent his or her life inside the DP or at the top of the labor movement is going to be especially talented at doing this. All sorts of alliances are needed to build a movement, and sometimes it is any port in a storm. Leaders will be needed. But the Democratic Party (leadership) and organized labor (leadership) are not going to be very useful, and we should never let any of them be leaders of any new movements for radical change. They are just as much our enemies as are the capitalists.
[note: as with any list post, this one has, I am sure, a million and one, possible errors and omissions. not all top union leaders or even DP higher-ups are scoundrels. Just most of them!]