I read the article and then read the comments...ran across this bunch of tripe;
"Yes, there have been major abuses by unions. But there's also a middle class because of unions. Without unions there would be no weekend, no 8-hour day, no benefits from injury on the job, etc. The old "I owe my soul to the company store" problem was ended by unions."
I heard this when I was growing up in Union house. It is propaganda, plain and simple.
The 8 hour day didn't come to a majority of us through the union, it was Ford in 1914 that made it happen. Up until then the union shops were closed shops and the union was not in the automotive or mass manufacturing sectors where a lot of the people worked.
The weekend was a result of the late 19th century social changes, up until then, a majority of the people worked 6 days a week. Just before the roaring 90's two things came about, Victorian ethics and the a more relaxed way of living.
Benefits were not uncommon when people got hurt, but there was no uniformed law governing them. Again Ford and Fordism provided work for those who were injured or with a disability. If one was hurt on the job, they did get services which included medical through Ford.
As for owing to the company store, even up to the 1970's some coal mining communities still used company stores. I remember visiting my realitives in PA and buying candy at the company store.
OK now I know I am really bored
Thank God!