Rich People Belong to Unions Too

I would say that 95% of the people I socialize with are rich Republicans. We try to avoid talking politics because they all belong to the Marie Antoinette school of political theory. But the fact is, they all belong to unions. They just don’t call them that; they call them “guilds” or “professional associations” and they pay membership dues.

Now that we have the spectacle of anti-union fervor raging, with middle class and working class people fighting each other over a diminishing piece of pie, and wages and salaries in a race to the bottom, neither group seems aware that the rich certainly aren’t abandoning their unions, thank you very much. However, the middle class are now particularly susceptible to their anti-union propaganda, and they collaborate in reducing their own bargaining power by attacking unions. I would ask them, is there any substantive difference between collective bargaining and lobbying? Lobbying is here to stay.

I was reminded of this when watching the Wisconsin protests. The challenge the unions faced was to simplify complex arguments into slogans that could sway public opinion. No easy thing. Many posters had variations on “Stop the War on Workers” and “Stop the Attack on Wisconsin Families,” along with a few amusing ones, “Time to Stop the Imperial Walker” and “Walker is a Weasel, not a Badger.” The best one I saw was “If you are not at the table, you are on the menu.”

I thought of sponsoring a contest with a prize of $300 for anyone who could come up with a catchy new slogan that would defend working people and perhaps slow the anti-union sentiment. I dropped the idea as hopeless. Maybe Banksy can tackle it? But it did recall for me the great mythic lines of the last 150 years, when rising commodity prices and protectionism led to draconian laws, massive protests and state repression: “Let them eat cake,” “Please sir, could I have some more,” “Off with her head,” “A rich man is nothing but a poor man with money,” etc. This is why we now have a weekend…

I have settled on this line as my mantra: “Rich people belong to unions too, but they don’t want you to.” Please improve on it.

Photo of Peterloo Massacre (1819) by Richard Carlile - Wikipedia