Undaunted

Workers vs. the Creepy Oligarch

Each week, The Contrarian features a standout figure for democracy. For this week, we honor multiple figures that have organized to act as one: Unions.

We have heard for decades about the decline of labor unions. Indeed, the shrinking share of the workforce represented by a union may exacerbate income inequality and Americans’ sense of economic insecurity. However, this week we saw what a powerful force organized labor can be in securing our democracy.

Labor unions have been everywhere in litigations against the Musk-Trump presidency. AFGE (the American Federation of Government Employees), the National Treasury Employees Union, the FBI Agents Association AFSME (the Association of Federal, State and Municipal Employees), SEIU (Service Employees International Union), CWA (Communications Workers of America), and the AFL-CIO are all parties to multiple lawsuits.

One or more labor organizations are party to lawsuits that are challenging the composition of DOGE (the so-called Department of Government Efficiency), unilateral freezing of federal funds, the unauthorized access to Treasury and Labor Department data, the collection and potential dissemination of data on FBI personnel, the creation of “Schedule F” to displace career employees, and the “fork-in-the-road” offer of “deferred resignation” (allegedly in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act and other federal laws). Labor unions are largely responsible for the string of temporary restraining orders preventing Musk and his minions from effectively conducting a bloodless coup.

Unions are suing not only to protect the employment rights of their members but to defend the architecture of our Constitution, which does not give the president (let alone a nutty South African billionaire) the right to override Congress’s spending power and ethics laws that prevent widescale corruption. Privacy protections that shield government employees from disclosure of their confidential data also ensure that every American’s information (e.g., Medicaid records, student loan documents) do not fall into the hands of “X” owner Musk.

Beyond lawsuits, the AFL-CIO has launched a new initiative. “The nation’s largest federation of unions is starting a campaign to push back on Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, who has been empowered by President Trump to carry out a largely unchecked attempt to purge the federal work force,” the New York Times reported. “The campaign by the A.F.L.-C.I.O. is called the Department of People Who Work for a Living, a play on Mr. Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency.”

And finally, wherever public rallies are beginning to engage ordinary members, put pressure on Democratic lawmakers to stand up to Trump, and give pro-democracy fighters hope, you will find union organizers and union members.

The engagement of labor unions is a positive sign for the future of American democracy. In its comprehensive study, Brookings scholars found that a key factor in determining whether a country goes the way of Poland (recovering its democracy) or the way of Hungary (descending into authoritarianism) is the existence of “diverse democracy alliances that include a wide range of civil society, state actors, political opposition, labor unions, the private sector, and members of the independent media.” It follows that if we want a robust defense of democracy, then pro-democracy advocates must “tackle economic inequality and improve well-being and opportunity across all demographic lines, including race, class, and geography.” And in the U.S., this requires “bolstering labor unions that are increasingly supported by the American public and critical to the health of our democracy and to addressing inequality.”

What is true in the U.S. is true throughout the democratic world.

“Unionism has played a central role in many democratic transitions in history, in countries as diverse as South Africa, Poland, and Spain. Chilean trade unions in particular played critical roles in resisting military dictatorship and reconstructing democracy,” according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

“This positive and mutually reinforcing relationship between democracy and trade unions also holds true today. Countries that are considered to be more democratic tend to be those with more robust industrial relations systems and with a strong culture of social dialogue.^”

Unions are hardly the only actors in today’s battles against authoritarianism. Lawyers, judges, independent media, and other components of civil society are critical. But “unions can serve as a bulwark for democracy” because they can forge cooperation among “migrants, women, and other historically marginalized workers.” They also provide training grounds for political organizing at the local, state, and federal level.

Former Vice President Kamala Harris liked to say,

“Thank a union member for the five-day workweek. Thank a union member for sick leave and paid family leave. Thank a union member for vacation time.”

Her point: In advocating for those advances, unions set the standard for all employees, unionized or not. Similarly, if our democracy survives, we might one day say, “Thank a union member for due process. Thank a union member for protecting private data. Thank a union member for preventing a return to the days of patronage.”

Today, The Contrarian would like to thank union members. While many are bending the knee and kissing the ring, labor unions remain undaunted.