During the 20th century, when the United States experienced its greatest era of shared wealth and prosperity, trade unions served as the stewards and champions of civil society.  Their inclusion in the socio-political, and political-economic, dynamics ensured that as the country’s fortunes grew, all Americans were promised a share as reward and appreciation for their hard work.  Over the last 30 years, ignited by Reaganomics and advanced by continual assaults on the labor-government bond, such shared prosperity has become a fond memory for some, and a wish for others.

You will find tow links below. The first is to an article I recently wrote about this dynamic, and how U.S. civil society can once again prosper using the might and will of civic organizations, of which unions form a major component. Below that, you will find a link to the edition of Daedalus in which my article, and several others, articulate the current problems facing our nation, and offer possible solutions.

Unions & Civic Engagement: How the Assault on Labor Endangers Civil Society

https://www.amacad.org/stewardingamerica/

Originally Posted on Reuters

By Nathan Milikowsky and Andy Stern

Economic policy debates often focus on areas of division and discord. On the minimum wage, you’ll see some businesses fighting labor. On regulation, you have government versus the free market.

There are plenty of areas where American workers and companies agree, however, such as the need for public investments in infrastructure and education.

There is another worker-business alignment, explored in a new Center for American Progress report, that has us — a corporate chief executive and a labor leader — excited about its potential to boost innovation and workers’ wages when we desperately need both.