Government Unions vs Middle Class Jobs

Kenneth Spence / March 09, 2011

In the Sunday New York Times, Paul Krugman argued that the only way to “restore the middle-class society we used to have” is by shoring up collective bargaining rights for unions—”so that ordinary workers as well as superstars have the power to bargain for good wages.”

The same day, a Washington Post op-ed went further, claiming that “public workers’ pay, benefits, and bargaining rights” are not “what is really at stake” in the Wisconsin fight. No, the authors argued, Gov. Scott Walker (R) is waging war on the middle class by trying to bust unions that “want to make good middle-class jobs the norm.”

Are these papers so out of touch that they think anyone opposes “good middle-class jobs” for Americans? They have at least been taken in by the idea that unions’ greatest concern is for the jobs of their members. That is simply untrue. (more…)