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.
Play entire videoRich’s piece in The New Republic, “Not With a Bang, But a Whimper: The Long, Slow Death Spiral of America’s Labor Movement”
Joe Nocera’s New York Times column on unions
Richard Kahlenberg’s biography of Albert Shanker
Harold Meyerson’s Washington Post column on unions
Doug Henwood’s essays on unions after the Wisconsin vote
Julian Zelizer’s book “On Capitol Hill”
Timothy Noah’s defense of public sector unions in The New Republic
Steve Fraser’s book “Labor Will Rule”
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