Again, whose side are you on?

Jo Ann Mort, over at TPMcafe's house of labor, has a good call-out on progressives who don't support labor.

This is has stuck in my craw for a long time.

I quote Ms. Mort in small part:

"...The fact is that in progressive circles, where it's considered unacceptable to be racist, homophobic, anti-environment or anti-feminist, it's been okay to cross picket lines, look down on service and blue collar workers, and frequent anti-union businesses and purchase anti-union goods. It's been okay to embrace anti-union employers who appear hip through their own marketing maneuvers."

It's true, I've noticed a tendency on the part of certain liberal bloggers (though not all) to treat labor's interests as though working folks were just some other interest group, which too often we democrats pander to. As if the lives of America's working class and working poor were on the same moral level as say, the Chamber of Commerce's legislative wish list.

Sweet merciful Christ. As I write this, Oliver Willis has a link to a goddamn union-busting law firm, on his website. I have no idea if he chooses his ads or not, but fucking really. If it were an ad for Operation Rescue, there'd be a shitstorm.

Which proves my point really. Chris Bowers over at MYdd wrote about this last January, and it caught my eye at the time, so sayeth the Bowers:

"The fact of the matter is this: one of the main reasons Democrats are losing elections is because it is okay to be pro-environment and anti-labor, it is okay to be pro-Roe and anti-labor, it is okay to be anti-war and anti-labor, it is okay to be anti-patriot act and anti-labor, but it is never okay to be pro-labor and anti-any of these other things. It has literally come to the point where you can be pro-liberal, but anti-labor, and no one seems to care."

It's this destruction of any kind of notion of solidarity that frightens me the most. Even liberals have no clue about sticking together because it's your ass that's on the line. Not because it's chic, or because George Bush is against it, but because if you don't your family will not have enough bread, your health care will go down the crapper and because you have no other choice.

Sad really.