Candidates should speak to the American worker
Democratic candidates for the Presidency would do well to pay attention to the fundamental, structural issues facing the American workforce, issues which have so far been given short shrift by most of the candidates. First, the quality of the workplace:
It would be positively revelatory to hear a presidential candidate truly speak to the conditions Americans find themselves in at work, to say firmly that companies that treat their employees like dirt are undermining our national spirit.
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The Republicans certainly know the kind of workplace they admire. It's one in which power -- not values, principles, or fairness, but raw power -- determines how people are treated. They find deeply troubling anything that constrains employers from exploiting their workers to whatever degree they see fit. They despise unions precisely because they alter that balance of power in the worker’s favor, providing some check on the ability of organizations to intimidate and humiliate, underpay and overwork. But so far, Democrats haven’t articulated their vision of what a progressive workplace in the twenty-first century is supposed to look like -- and what they’re willing to do to create it.
I'm one of the lucky ones fortunate enough to work in a positive, professional, and affirmative workplace. Most people aren't lucky enough to work in an environment where the employee is respected for his/her knowledge and experience, so I count my lucky stars in that respect. Most people work in an environment that falls within the description quoted above; American business has largely adopted a model which is hostile to the workers who provide the company's success.
The problem, as Robert Reich puts it, is one of national priorities:
The underlying problem began around 1970. And any presidential candidate seeking to address it will have to think bigger than stimulating the economy with tax cuts or spending increases. The fact is, most Americans are still not prospering in the high-tech, global economy that emerged three decades ago. Almost all the benefits of economic growth since then have gone to a relatively small number of people at the very top. The candidate who acknowledges this and comes up with ways to truly spread prosperity will have a good chance of winning over America's large and largely-anxious middle class.
Too many people in the middle and working classes have been brainwashed into believing that what's best for the CEO is best for them. Candidates for national office need to disavow the public of this fallacy if we're ever going to see real improvement for American workers.