NYT: Labor in full roar again, but it's not the same

[Omaha Steve]

http://apnews.excite.com/article/20110319/D9M2FA1O0.html

Mar 19, 1:25 PM (ET)

By CALVIN WOODWARD and SAM HANANEL

In the bitter aftermath of a showdown with Wisconsin's governor, and as other states move to weaken public employee bargaining rights, unions and their allies dare to hope they can turn rage into revival. This could be a make-or-break moment for a movement that brought the nation the 40-hour week, overtime pay, upward mobility, a storied century of brawls, progressivism and corruption - and now a struggle to stay relevant in the modern age.

Not so many answer to the call anymore when labor demands, as it did in the bloody strife of Kentucky coal country generations ago, "Which side are you on?"


In this Feb. 19, 2011 file photo, AFSCME memeber Merryann Wen of Delevan, Wis., help holds up an American Flag as she marches around the the State Square in Madison, Wis. As other states move to weaken public employee bargaining rights in the aftermath of the Wisconsin showdown, unions and their allies dare to hope they can turn rage into revival. This could be a make or break moment for a movement that brought the nation the 40-hour week, overtime pay, upward mobility, and now a struggle to stay relevant in the modern age. (AP Photo/Andy Manis, File)


One way or another, the Wisconsin Waterloo and the forces it set loose will fill a chapter in organized labor's history. The dispute mobilized masses, attracted public support on the side of workers and set up a political donnybrook to play out in the months ahead as labor leaders seek voters' vengeance against the Republicans who eviscerated union rights.

But it was, at the core, a defeat for labor in the one place where it has stayed strong: the public sector.

Suddenly this redoubt looks like a fat target.

FULL story at link.

[xchrom]

1. Interesting. Nt