creating progressive institutions: consumers' unions [View All]

[unblock]

once upon a time in america, unions formed the backbone of the left. many people felt that the union was part of their identity, part of their social circle, part of their family. and this paid great political dividends for the left, and in turn, for workers.

today's union is moribund, if not already dead, in america. europe's unions do fine, but that's them, and this is us.

today more people identify themselves as "consumers" rather than "workers". after all, many of us fancy ourselves owners or entrepreneurs or small businessmen or even just shareholders rather than "mere" "workers".

but, we ALL consume. and, boy, are we good at it!

except, of course, that our power is completely divided as individual consumers, providing the best opportunity for businesses to take full advantage. not only can they charge more because the have the stronger negotiating position, but they can even further segregate consumers, and charge more to those consumers that they figure can pay more. how else do you explain crazy pricing strategies like airlines charging more if your round trip doesn't include a saturday night?


what institutions can we create to take advantage of this strong identity yet weak bargaining position?

collective purchasing

just as unions once used collective bargaining as their primary raison d'etre, consumers' unions can use collective purchasing as their main draw.

we can create non-profit organizations that use the clout of many consumers negotiating as one to achieve price discounts from businesses. these savings would be passed on to members, with a cut retained to pay for operations and to build up reserves.

these reserves could then be used to produce advertising and membership newsletters which would include issues of importance to all consumers, but also with a healthy dose of progressive, consumer-oriented politics.

eventually, we could build a strong grass-roots backbone for progressive politics from a base of consumers eager to vote in their own interest as consumers, for such things as consumer's rights, quality guarantees, product liability, environmental protection, full disclosure, truth in advertising, and so on.

i think this is our strongest shot at replacing what the unions once represented for the left politically.

thoughts?