On
Fireside Chats, Mark talks with Rich Yeselson, a veteran of the labor movement, about the Wisconsin recall election and the
decline of organized labor. Do Americans hate unions, or are they just
indifferent? Are we all just
free-riders on the benefits unions obtained for us? Was it a mistake to go after
Scott Walker? Have unions put too much faith in
electoral politics? Why does the
more affluent, liberal wing of the Democratic Party find itself at cross purposes with unions? Rich argues that while it’s great that liberals like Paul Krugman, Timothy Noah, and Mark
finally appreciate unions, bloggers and academics are no substitute for a broad social movement.