Middle Class bites the hand that fed them. Unions

Of all the organizations that middle class Americans  reject, the most baffling to me are Labor Unions.  Unions help to create the middle class. Before unions worker's wages were at the mercy of employers. There were some employers, like Henry Ford, who understood the value of workers making a decent wage, but by in large most employers were greedy and unfair. Not only did Labor Unions fight for better wages, but they also fought for health benefits and safer working conditions, which also benefited the workers family and communities. In the 1950's and 60's the middle class flourished and the American economy was robust. Industry was booming due to the Viet Nam war, and after the war ended companies started to profit in the billions of dollars. There was always contention between corporations and labor unions, but that is what bargaining is all about. There is nothing wrong with a worker bargaining for a fair and decent wage and safe working conditions.


There were a few bad apples, unions that were under the control of organized crime and there was an aggressive push by the justice department to get rid of them. Most Labor Unions in this country were not controlled by organized crime but along with the news media and major corporations, you couldn't see it. There was an attempt to paint all labor unions as Mafia controlled centers of wealth.

The Middle Class attacks on Labor Unions started under Ronald Reagan. When President Reagan busted  PATCO, the Air Traffic Controller's Union, it signaled the decline of Unions and public opinion. Corporations quickly picked up the ball and began a successful campaign to label labor unions as greedy and negative and bad for the nations economy. Then the GOP started to pack the the courts with judges which weakened Labor Union law suits to the point that Labor Unions actually became ineffective and thus furthered it's decline  in the public arena. It isn't a coincidence
that the stagnation in wages, the decline of the Middle Class, parallel the devaluation of Labor Unions and the unpopular opinion they have with GOP conservatives. Am I the only one who sees that, not only do the GOP want to take us back in time with social issues, they want to go back to a time where workers are at the mercy of employers.  


Corporate America keeps riding their agenda on the coat tails of disgruntled people to have one asset  THEY VOTE.


It's the same thing that happened in the Southern States in 1861. The poor whites went to war to keep a system in play that was keeping them poor, Slavery. Why hire a blacksmith when you can own one?


Good or Bad the Labor Unions were the only organizations formed to fight for fair wages for middle class Americans. Even if a company does not have a union, the employers keep their wages compatible as to keep employees from considering forming a union. 


It is ironic that the very person who actually helped to vilify labor unions, was the President of a major Union himself. Most of his wealth came from unions fighting to get actors fair wages and salaries for the work they did and the product they helped produce.