Steve Olsen On Unions
Submitted by David Pace on Mon, 06/26/2006 - 1:59pm.
An excerpt from Steve Olsen's most excellent pamphlet "Why Most Utahns Are Democrats (But Just Don't Know it Yet)"
ON LABOR UNIONS AND CORPORATIONS
Democrats...believe, like Henry Ford did a century ago, that the most important things for a healthy economy is a thriving middle class. We believe that true economic success hasn't been achieved until opportunity spills over to the most disadvantaged among us. We also believe that the wealthy can take care of themselves just fine, thank you. (The expanding poverty gap in America shows just how appropirate the word "trickle" [in reference to Ronald Reagan's "trickle down economics" theory] was.) Democrats are not socialists; we respect the right to property and believe in capitalism. But we believe the protection of property and earning power should extend to average Americans, not just the rich.
These facts explain the traditional alliance between Democrats and the union movement. Many Utahns are critical of unions because of occasional well publicized instances of corruption--unfortunately forgetting that there is just as much, if not more, corruption in the corporate suites as in the union hall. The difference is that we don't hear anyone saying we should ban corporations. Unions are occasionally imperfect like other organizations run by humans, but Americans need to remember that most of the worker benefits and protections we all enjoy came through the sacrifices of previous generations of union members....Even if you're not a union member, the existence of healthy labor unions is a positive force for American workers. Despite the admitted problems in some unions, the benefits of a viable union movement outweigh the shortcomings."
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http://www.democracyforutah.com/cvc/node/825