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Dear {name},
Earlier this week, Facebook reminded me that fourteen years ago, on March 27, 2011, I covered a large labor protest that took place in downtown Los Angeles, CA. Unions of every stripe were there, including the Teamsters, Service Employees International Union, Los Angeles County Firefighters, and many more. This was part of a nationwide response to then-Wisconsin Republican Governor Scott Walker's attempt to address the state's budget shortfall by taking away public sector unions' ability to bargain collectively over pensions and health care, and by limiting pay raises of public employees to the rate of inflation, among other measures. In Wisconsin, protesters even physically took over the state's capitol.
Fast forward to March 26, 2025, and the unions were back in the public eye, only this time praising Republican President Donald J. Trump. That is correct! In a press release, United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain stated, "We applaud the Trump administration for stepping up to end the free trade disaster that has devastated working-class communities for decades. Ending the race to the bottom in the auto industry starts with fixing our broken trade deals, and the Trump administration has made history with today's actions."
What was becoming obvious in 2016, and was plain for all to see in 2024, is that the Republican Party has become the party of working men and women. Moreover, President Trump has given labor unions a seat at the table, with the Teamsters becoming a constituency that he listens to, enabling Sean O'Brien to successfully push for a Labor Secretary hospitable to unions.
Oddly, the Democratic Party and its adherents have, for all intents and purposes, become the party of Wall Street. As an example, Krystal Ball, co-host of the podcast Breaking Points and darling of the progressive left, stated, "Is Donald Trump about to cause a recession... just this month he announced he is going forward with 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico for some reason - that would be catastrophic..."
"Catastrophic," she said! Well, the people representing America's workers don't seem to agree. Ms. Ball is emblematic of what is wrong with this country. She, like many others in the media, knows where their bread is buttered, and it is not with the populists. It also informs us that it is not going to be easy to take our country back from the corporatocracy. But we can do it, and like Tom Morello urged in his Union Song, we gotta stand up and stand strong.
Like Joe Hill and Caesar Chavez
Who fought in their own time
Like our brothers and our sisters
Up and down that picket line
Like the unnamed and unnumbered
Who struggle brave and long
Like the union men and women
Standing up and standing strong
Onward,
Kevin Lynn
Executive Director, Institute for Sound Public Policy
Founder, U.S. Tech Workers |
