WOKE WASHINGTON: The fight to unionize an Amazon warehouse in Bessemer, Ala. is scrambling politics here in Washington.
The union election in the red state — in which votes are still being tallied — comes as Republicans declare war on Big Tech and are now threatening to divorce corporate America, lashing out at big business this week for wading into political debates. Republicans are now tossing around the term “corporate wokeness” as something to fight against as they seek to redefine themselves as the “Working Class Party.” (Amazon founder Jeff Bezos owns The Washington Post).
- “What does this mean for folks — especially those right of center? It’s a real opportunity to recognize that pro-market is not the same as pro-business,” Oren Cass, the founder of American Compass and a former adviser to Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah), told us.
…
Cass explained the internal conflict facing Republicans when it comes to embracing union drives like the one in Bessemer.
- “When we look at this Amazon fight, what right-of-center feels is tension on the idea of focusing more on interests of workers, and on the other hand, being very hesitant of giving more power to the current set of big labor organizations we have in this country,” Cass added. “It’s really important to distinguished unions as they operate today in America from the idea of a healthy labor movement.”
Recommended Reading
New Issues 2024 Brief Examines Decline in Worker Power and its Economic Impacts
American Compass today released a new policy brief as part of its Issues 2024 series highlighting the importance of worker power and its decline over the past half century.
Issues 2024: Worker Power
For 50 years, businesses have been finding ways to succeed while offering fewer secure jobs to American workers, leading to surging growth and profits while wages stagnated.
New Survey Shows Most Americans Lack Secure Jobs
Republican support for unions is growing, despite political involvement pushing many workers away from organized labor
