The Union Myth of Representing ‘Working People’

by Chris Gregor

Unions and their mouthpieces continually bombard us with the catch phrases about standing for “working people,” “working families,” and the poor, oppressed and exploited “working” classes. Truth is, unions represent a privileged minority, a politically connected class, the aristocrats of middle-class workers. And the mainstream of American workers, the real working people agree; it’s why only 6.9% of private sector workers are in unions and union membership overall has decreased from nearly one-third of all workers in the 1940s.

People understand that unions are about everything but work, because unions generally mean less work for everybody else. When unions go on strike, work stops, even for non-union workers. By demanding higher wages for less work they drive down productivity and the possibility of business growth and more jobs for everyone. Companies move to get out from under union pay scales that kill business – look at Detroit, the scene of Mr. Hoffa’s Labor Day rant and sadly, also the scene of the union movement’s greatest catastrophe, the dismantling of the American auto industry. Unions’ proclivities for killing jobs are illustrated their “concerns” that are holding up free trade agreements and could add 250,000 jobs to the economy. Additionally, Unions and their accomplices at the National Labor Relations Board are trying to kill thousands of  jobs under the dubious charges that Boeing broken the law by building non-union production lines in South Carolina.

Unions’ comfortable pay, sweet pensions, and gold-plated health plans are paid for by people – taxpayers in the case of public sector unions and consumers in the case of private sector unions – who in many cases do not enjoy the same pay and benefits that the union workers receive. Many true “working people” labor at two or sometimes three jobs, pay their own benefits, and get no pay for taking days off to protest or demonstrate.

Union members are in conflict with everyone and represent a narrow special interest that flourishes at the expenses of other workers and the economy at large. They are a monopolistic enterprise. They are adversaries to business-owners, other workers, consumers and taxpayers. Look at what has happened in states with traditions of strong unions and union support – Wisconsin voters have said enough to funding public-sector union workers who have better pay and benefits than their employers. Voters intuitively understand that unions are a drag on the economy and taxes; they benefit only themselves at everyone else’s expense.

Unions and Crony Capitalists: Joined at the Hip

It is particularly galling to hear union leaders like Hoffa and Trumka berating the so-called “Tea Party,” as enemies of the working class. As far as I understand the goals of people who call themselves Tea Party supporters are lower taxes, less government spending, less regulation and less government overall. How are these principles anti-middle class and anti-worker? There is also a rhetorical theme in the blustering of these union leaders that the Tea Party is somehow joined at the hip with Wall Street and corporate interests. This is a ridiculous assertion. If anything, the Tea Party is a movement empowered by populist, main street, small business and blue collar types that have nothing but disdain for the crony capitalists and the Wall Street firms who support and benefit from their allegiance to the unions’ best friend forever – President Obama. In fact, Democrats are the ones in bed with corporations. According to Rich Lowry,

in the 2008 election campaign, “Democrats garnered 73 percent of the political donations of Goldman Sachs, as well as the majority of donations from other financial giants such as UBS and Citigroup.”

When you look at unions and their political power structure, don’t they have a lot more in common with the crony capitalists than they do with the unrepresented working guy from whom the Tea Party gets its support? Union bosses Hoffa and Trumka have similar goals and the same political patrons as CEOs of Obama-friendly corporations. All have a vested interest in using government to regulate or tax their competitors (non-union labor and smaller businesses) into oblivion. All are strong supporters of the Democratic Party that enacts these policies. All benefit from government largesse in the form of stimulus packages, waivers from onerous regulations (Obamacare), bailouts, sweet tax breaks, and other political perks. I haven’t heard of a Tea Party guy with a dry cleaning business getting any stimulus funds or being exempted from Obamacare regulations like the some unions and their soul mates in corporate America.

The Tea Party and Republicans could make a lot of political points by positioning the unions and corporations as the bookend cronies of the Democrat power base, all united in their special interests in enriching a themselves at the expense of the real “working people.”


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Posted Sep 13th 2011 at 1:18 pm in Big Labor, Economics, News, Politics | 64 Comments