Unable to prevail at the ballot box, Republicans and their extremist plutocrat backers are hard at work chipping away at one of the foundations of the progressive movement: labor unions.
The ultra-wealthy DeVos family (the Amway co-founders) aren't as well known as the nefarious "dark money" Koch brothers, but they are heavy hitters in the extreme right's re-energized battle to crush the union movement, starting in their home state of Michigan:
Passing right-to-work in Michigan was more than a policy victory. It was a major score for Republicans who have long sought to weaken the Democratic Party by attacking its sources of funding and organizing muscle. "Michigan big labor literally controls one of the major political parties," Dick DeVos said last January. "I'm not suggesting they have influence; I'm saying they hold total dominance, command, and control." So DeVos and his allies hit labor—and the Democratic Party—where it hurt: their bank accounts. By attacking their opponents' revenue stream, they could help put Michigan into play for the GOP heading into the 2016 presidential race—as it was more than three decades earlier, when the state's Reagan Democrats were key to winning the White House.
More broadly, the Michigan fight has given hope—and a road map—to conservatives across the country working to cripple organized labor and defund the left. Whereas party activists had for years viewed right-to-work as a pipe dream, a determined and very wealthy family, putting in place all the elements of a classic political campaign, was able to move the needle in a matter of months. "Michigan is Stalingrad, man," one prominent conservative activist told me. "It's where the battle will be won or lost." [our emphasis]Harold Meyerson highlights another villain in the extreme right's effort to cripple unions and, therefore, the progressive movement:
Among the causes most frequently cited for the dizzying rise in American inequality in recent decades — globalization, technology, de-unionization — one culprit is generally left off the list: the Supreme Court. But the justices (more precisely, the conservative justices) must be given their due. In cases ranging from Buckley v. Valeo in 1976 to Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission in 2010, they have greatly increased the wealthy’s sway over elections — which, in turn, has led to public policies that have reduced taxes on the rich, curtailed regulation of Wall Street and kept workers from forming unions.
On Tuesday, the justices were presented with a golden opportunity to further increase inequality. [our emphasis]Meyerson is referring to the Harris v. Quinn case that is currently before the Supreme Court. Please read both the Mother Jones and Meyerson pieces to get a real sense of the pernicious efforts of the ultra-wealthy, ultra-right to take away the gains made by the middle class and Democrats over the past half-century, with a critical assist from the Republicans on the Supreme Court.
