First of all, as to the question, no. Unions are small brained, lumbering beasts. Here is Delaware, for example, Unions are openly and resolutely in bed with politicians like John Carney and Tom Carper. They get nothing of real value out of the relationship, but bumble and stumble along oblivious of the long term damage these supply-side “centrists” are inflicting on their economic prospects. So, no. Unions have not decided to stop cutting their own throats.
And yet the Democratic Party primary results in Michigan can give us hope that while “unions” will be lagging indicators, “voters” may be waking up to the fact that the “free trade” economy ushered in by Bill Clinton’s execrable NAFTA bill is simply not working for them. And that is a good thing.
Can the Democratic nominee capitalize on this awakening? If the nominee is Bernie Sander, then clearly, yes. His whole raison d’etre is throwing a spotlight on the rotten system [ushered in by Bill Clinton’s execrable NAFTA bill] which serves the top 1%of our economy exclusively.
If the nominee is Hillary Clinton, that’s a stickier wicket. How does Hillary come off as the economic populist that the times seem to demand? Her road looks especially rocky if she is facing Donald Trump, a man who is threatening to steal the white working middle class [E.g the people most injured by, and pissed off about the free trade economy ushered in by Bill Clinton’s execrable NAFTA bill] out from underneath the Democrats by simply telling the truth about NAFTA, CAFTA and TPP.
