Totally agree. Many in labor have been too cautious in asserting our needs within the party. Obama was a breakthrough in important ways, but also appointed Arnie Duncan as Sec of Ed, who embraced testing, charter schools and a bs "race to the top" ed plan, and Rahm Emanuel as Chief of Staff.
With all the JD Vance attention, it also opens up some space to talk about the real needs and potential of the rural poor. My book, Unionizing The Ivory Tower, is the book about the appalachian working class Vance DIDN'T write. A story of mostly white working class, originally socially conservative workers learning to build a fighting union and through that experience realizing our connections to other workers and issues around gender, race, and broader struggle.
Labor can and should be the central force within a political party and we can be that in cities, suburbs, and rural America too.
Terrific piece, HamNo. I’ve been saying for years that the only path to revolution in this country is via Labor. What you’ve written here articulates that much better than I ever could.
This also reminded me of how hypocritical the Right’s anti-union stance is when you consider how blindly they support law enforcement. The next time I hear a Republican shit on unions, I’m going to ask them to explain to me why the cops can have one but normal folks can’t.
Excellent article, overview and perspective on our two party system. Based on the size of the entire labor element in our society, if they could organize on a national level and pull themselves together as a united political front within the Democratic party, they'd have the capitalists shitting in their pants! As far as Trump and his MAGGOT fascists are concerned, it appears as though they've finally shit the bed and that Kamala Harris will take them to the cleaners on Nov. 5th! Can't wait to vote!
I know this isn't the point of the article, but I wish there was just ONE un-fucked system of representative government. Like, the parliamentary system is amazing for everyone having a voice in what ends up being a coalition government but look at England and France and Israel and Jesus Christ I don't want any part of that chaos. So then the alternative is a less chaotic system that still is putatively representative, but then you get the US system that has basically since its founding coalesced around two parties that have maintained their survival at the expense of any expansion of options due to the winner-take-all nature of our elections.
I'm not saying that democracy itself is shitty, because purely representative government is still better than the alternatives, but can we figure out ONE WAY to do it that isn't deeply flawed?
The Dems are also a party of capital, just of different factions of capital. One part of it panders to socialism, no doubt, but even then, "woke capitalism" is seemingly what we get at the end of the day so long as the centrist Dems hold power. Kamala is still a centrist Dem.
Present-day unions are not up to this challenge; they have enough issues with democracy in their own hierarchies.
The key is to build a left party, inclusive of union and (for now) non-union workers; grow it big and wide, and then pull the unions into it by being the most responsive to their goals and aims.
If they don't come in, they face losing touch with their own membership; and perhaps their leadership faces challenge from our party-backed factions within.
Most importantly, our party should pull in and be of help to those workers who *can't* form unions yet; and swing our weight behind them to push back against the conditions that keep them down, and from unionizing.
That will do far more than the Democrats could ever bring themselves to promise, much less back up with action.
I appreciate your recognition of a point I posted a couple days ago about the Democrat Party being an amalgamation of special interests and no longer a party with a core set of values, which the GOP really remains.
I also totally agree that Labor has been fed table scraps by the Dems for a long time, like the black vote, “give us your money and votes now” and maybe you will like the policy we deliver, maybe not.
The battle Dems really have is the most untenable Labor v Green New Deal factions. Your Al Gore Liberals and their college kid acolyte patsies versus Joe Oil Worker is a problem.
When your candidates are sworn to kill the best paying union jobs like six figure oil workers, pipeline, steelworker and now the car industry, the “Green Jobs” canard can only play so long. It’s over.
That the Green New Deal was written by the billionaire boys club, er World Economic Forum makes it all the more complicated.
Oil rich California did the Greenie Dream Cap and Trade Scheme and gasoline. Silicon Valley Tesla drivers don’t care, but poor Mexican Americans paying that $2/gallon bullshit tax for nothing to fill your 1990 Toyota trucks to eke out and honest living with a hammer and saw feel it.
Clearly you’ve lost a huge swath of blue collar workers and even entire unions over that Green Trojan horse, and those you’ve treated as “useful idiots” are awake and moving to the party of consumer choice, liberty, and yes, police.
You don’t have to be rich to appreciate the police. I was victimized last night by a vagrant who vandalized my property and left his dog shit (maybe his own) on my driveway. Your side reviling the police and sneering at anyone who works hard and just wants basic protection of his stuff is another massive losing issue.
Tony West is her brother-in-law. Uber has either bought off some parts of organized labor or is battling against efforts to organize drivers/-so it’s not only bringing in labor, which I agree with, but bringing in the agents of organized labor, who have not been corrupted by access to power. Her vice presidential pick will be a powerful signal of who she listens to.
Totally agree. Many in labor have been too cautious in asserting our needs within the party. Obama was a breakthrough in important ways, but also appointed Arnie Duncan as Sec of Ed, who embraced testing, charter schools and a bs "race to the top" ed plan, and Rahm Emanuel as Chief of Staff.
With all the JD Vance attention, it also opens up some space to talk about the real needs and potential of the rural poor. My book, Unionizing The Ivory Tower, is the book about the appalachian working class Vance DIDN'T write. A story of mostly white working class, originally socially conservative workers learning to build a fighting union and through that experience realizing our connections to other workers and issues around gender, race, and broader struggle.
Labor can and should be the central force within a political party and we can be that in cities, suburbs, and rural America too.
I completely agree with you with regard to Unions BUT like what happened in England, they can be brought and sold. Privatization rears it's ugly head.
Indeed and when labor was more powerful in America it was also more corrupt, in spots. But that's not inevitable.
Terrific piece, HamNo. I’ve been saying for years that the only path to revolution in this country is via Labor. What you’ve written here articulates that much better than I ever could.
This also reminded me of how hypocritical the Right’s anti-union stance is when you consider how blindly they support law enforcement. The next time I hear a Republican shit on unions, I’m going to ask them to explain to me why the cops can have one but normal folks can’t.
Excellent article, overview and perspective on our two party system. Based on the size of the entire labor element in our society, if they could organize on a national level and pull themselves together as a united political front within the Democratic party, they'd have the capitalists shitting in their pants! As far as Trump and his MAGGOT fascists are concerned, it appears as though they've finally shit the bed and that Kamala Harris will take them to the cleaners on Nov. 5th! Can't wait to vote!
"in the way you might feel if you arrived at a group camping trip to find that there were not individual accommodations.
“Fuck. It’s just one big tent.”
HAHAHAHAHA!
Chef's kiss!
nailed it
Sounds good, but the Democrats have to stop sending money and weapons and throwing their support behind Israel as well.
I know this isn't the point of the article, but I wish there was just ONE un-fucked system of representative government. Like, the parliamentary system is amazing for everyone having a voice in what ends up being a coalition government but look at England and France and Israel and Jesus Christ I don't want any part of that chaos. So then the alternative is a less chaotic system that still is putatively representative, but then you get the US system that has basically since its founding coalesced around two parties that have maintained their survival at the expense of any expansion of options due to the winner-take-all nature of our elections.
I'm not saying that democracy itself is shitty, because purely representative government is still better than the alternatives, but can we figure out ONE WAY to do it that isn't deeply flawed?
Increased direct democracy => lessened impact of the flaws of our representative system or an equivalent.
Every state should have a ballot initiative process, for starters. https://ballotpedia.org/States_with_initiative_or_referendum
The Dems are also a party of capital, just of different factions of capital. One part of it panders to socialism, no doubt, but even then, "woke capitalism" is seemingly what we get at the end of the day so long as the centrist Dems hold power. Kamala is still a centrist Dem.
Maybe half right, but not all.
Present-day unions are not up to this challenge; they have enough issues with democracy in their own hierarchies.
The key is to build a left party, inclusive of union and (for now) non-union workers; grow it big and wide, and then pull the unions into it by being the most responsive to their goals and aims.
If they don't come in, they face losing touch with their own membership; and perhaps their leadership faces challenge from our party-backed factions within.
Most importantly, our party should pull in and be of help to those workers who *can't* form unions yet; and swing our weight behind them to push back against the conditions that keep them down, and from unionizing.
That will do far more than the Democrats could ever bring themselves to promise, much less back up with action.
This is really solid analysis - ordered your book today because of this. Keep up the good work
Hamilton you might really wanna think about limiting commenting to paid subscribers again at some point
Great article, wish it could happen. But unions can’t spend their money for political purposes as freely as liberal fat cats can.
I appreciate your recognition of a point I posted a couple days ago about the Democrat Party being an amalgamation of special interests and no longer a party with a core set of values, which the GOP really remains.
I also totally agree that Labor has been fed table scraps by the Dems for a long time, like the black vote, “give us your money and votes now” and maybe you will like the policy we deliver, maybe not.
The battle Dems really have is the most untenable Labor v Green New Deal factions. Your Al Gore Liberals and their college kid acolyte patsies versus Joe Oil Worker is a problem.
When your candidates are sworn to kill the best paying union jobs like six figure oil workers, pipeline, steelworker and now the car industry, the “Green Jobs” canard can only play so long. It’s over.
That the Green New Deal was written by the billionaire boys club, er World Economic Forum makes it all the more complicated.
Oil rich California did the Greenie Dream Cap and Trade Scheme and gasoline. Silicon Valley Tesla drivers don’t care, but poor Mexican Americans paying that $2/gallon bullshit tax for nothing to fill your 1990 Toyota trucks to eke out and honest living with a hammer and saw feel it.
Clearly you’ve lost a huge swath of blue collar workers and even entire unions over that Green Trojan horse, and those you’ve treated as “useful idiots” are awake and moving to the party of consumer choice, liberty, and yes, police.
You don’t have to be rich to appreciate the police. I was victimized last night by a vagrant who vandalized my property and left his dog shit (maybe his own) on my driveway. Your side reviling the police and sneering at anyone who works hard and just wants basic protection of his stuff is another massive losing issue.
You can comment but in the future just leave one comment and not ten.
I registered as D because they were supposed to be the party that stood for workers and I was from a family of workers.
It would be a good thing.
Tony West is her brother-in-law. Uber has either bought off some parts of organized labor or is battling against efforts to organize drivers/-so it’s not only bringing in labor, which I agree with, but bringing in the agents of organized labor, who have not been corrupted by access to power. Her vice presidential pick will be a powerful signal of who she listens to.