Republicans and the Unions - Gary Sasse
Gary Sasse, MINDSETTER™
Republicans and the Unions - Gary Sasse
This introspection is necessary because the Republican Party currently lacks a positive governing strategy to respond to workforce development challenges and calls for greater economic opportunity and social justice.
Today finance capitalism places too much power in the hands of the corporate, academic and governing elites at the expense of working families. As Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) observed, “We have become defenders of the rights of business to make a profit, the right of shareholders to receive a return on their investments, and the obligation people have to work. But we have neglected the rights of workers to share in the benefits they create for their employers and the obligation of business to act in the best interest of the workers and the country that have made success possible.”
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTIn this election many Americans are looking for stable political leadership that will offer a pathway to good jobs, enable parents to balance work and family, provide income security and build safe communities with good schools and access to health care.
Orin Cass, Executive Director of the think tank American Compass was correct when he said, we need to “restore an economic consensus that emphasizes the importance of family, community and industry”. In building this consensus the needs of both managers and workers must be given due consideration.
While worker advocates have been critical of President Trump’s labor record, the President has convinced a number of workers that he is fighting to bring back basic jobs. This perception may be something Republicans can build upon to improve relationships with workers in the future
Bellicose relations between labor and the Republican Party were not always the case. A New York Times article by Steven Greenhouse noted that in the past while the GOP and unions differed on issues, they were able to cooperate to achieve common objectives. The first federal law granting workers the right to organize and bargain was approved by President Coolidge--The Railway Labor Act of 1926. In 1970 President Nixon signed the most extensive law to protect workers since the New Deal--The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970. President Ford signed into law the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to protected pensions after the collapse of Studebaker.
In recent decades, as politics become more hyper-partisan, relations between labor and the GOP plummeted. For instance, the president of the nation’s largest public-employees union bought ads that helped turn public opinion against Speaker Newt Gingrich. Today union leaders and others believe that congressional Republicans opposed not only pro-union legislation, but many pro-worker initiatives.
To be successful a Republican governing agenda must align both moral and social policy with 21st Century economic realities. This will require building new relationships with organized labor and the middle class. As the New York Times David Brooks opined, “Now it’s clear the party needs to stop catering to the corporate class and start focusing on the shop owner, the plumber and salaried worker. It needs to emphasize the dignity of work and honor those who are not trying to make millions, not looking for handouts, but just want to build middle-class lives in a stable social order.”
The good news is that a handful of Republican officials and policy wonks have recognized this. Perhaps the best example is the work being done by a new conservative think tank American Compass. On Labor Day they released a proposal calling on workers to have a seat at the table. The American Compass proposal states, “Strong worker representation can make America stronger.” They recommend collective bargaining reforms in order to fairly distribute economic gains and engender mutual respect that is essential for build strong communities.
Nobody can predict if this effort will succeed. Nonetheless, it is encouraging that some conservatives and Republicans are pursuing initiatives to improve the lives of workers and their families. The journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step.
