Liberal Talk Radio

The problem with the kind of arguments put forward in the link Bruno talked about is that they tend to gloss over specifics in favor of extrapolating some general principle. In this case, blindly supporting the striking New York City transit workers, who right now are illustrating the worst example of “the power of unions”:

I feel bad for people walking to work in frigid New York, and worse for those low income folks who can’t even get to work. But ultimately, the strikers are sacrificing not just for themselves, but for all of us. Workers in this country didn’t get where they are today (in terms of decent pay, vacations, 8-hour work days, pensions, health care benefits, etc) without struggle, often bloody, illegal struggles that may have inconvenienced or even hurt “innocent” bystanders. And much of the reason that all of those hard-won benefits are being lost today is that more people aren’t in unions and willing to put their jobs on the line to maintain those hard-won benefits.

So in other words, it’s always OK to strike because Wal-Mart is taking over. I’ll tell you what, I’m not sure Roger Toussaint and the Transport Workers Union are the best public faces in the battle to build support for unions. And if you see this particular illegal, immoral and ultimately dick-like work action as part of a larger struggle of worker vs. management or the little man vs. the Man or anything other than what it is, then the union movement is doomed.

But where else do we hear this argument-by-extrapolation? Lots of places: Parental-notification laws reinforce a culture of life; Medical marijuana helps us towards full legalization; “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” is a positive step towards full acceptance of gays in the military. Even though each supports some sweeping, overarching principle, the question remains whether any of these ideas are in and of themselves good, solid policy at the micro level. (For many reasons with each, probably not.) (And just to be clear, I support the concept of medical marijuana but question whether many of its supporters are just potheads.)

(And — not to beat this to death, but doesn’t this line of reasoning also remind you of the way some justify supporting other bad groups or regimes? The right-wing paramilitaries/coke dealers in Colombia. Stalin, upholding the Marxist ideal. The Saudis, for that matter!)

If a union is out of line, we have to call them out on it. It’s shameful to ignore the facts on the ground — the micro level — for the general principle. That’s inflexible. That’s parochial. And it usually makes for bad policy.

Look, the New York City Transit System is not some 19th-century coal mine. This is not Joe Hill. It’s not “You Can’t Scare Me I’m Sticking With The Union.” It’s about public servants holding 8 million-plus people hostage over contract proposals that seem — gasp — pretty reasonable and fair.