Political Science

The labor sector comprises a huge bulk of the United States political and economic landscape. However, given the capitalist set-up, labor is bound to be one of the marginalized areas of American society. History would show that the struggle for economic equality rests mainly on the domain of the fight of the labor movement. And the labor movement is only but a result of a wider and more entrenched union groups. On the other hand, statistics would show that the working class and their families are sources of poll victories to any political party the labor movement chooses to support. Since the 1930s, there exists a union-Democrat alliance wherein candidates of the Democratic Party almost always garner the support of the greater majority of the members of labor unions across the country. However, if current labor situations would be the basis of judging whether coming into alliance with the Democrats, or with any of the two political parties for that matter, served the labor sector better, it can be confidently said that the alliance is, on the most parts, a failure for the labor movement. The question now is whether it would be best if the labor movement formed a political party of their own given its vast political support base and a sort of organized form - not to mention an almost consistent and one ideology and vision. Taking all things into perspective, however, one can say that despite the fact that the labor sector should have a political party of its own to better serve its purpose and protect its interests, the political clime is just not ripe for this kind of endeavor as well as the fact that the labor movement, specifically the labor unions, still needs to be strengthened. This paper will look into this contention by assessing the history of the labor sector in terms of political struggles, the pros and cons of the current two-party system to the movement, and the goals of labor unions. 

    The absence of a labor party in the United States can be attributed to a host of factors. First, the American government was created as a result of a revolt against the English conquerors thus many people, including the working class, recognize the government as their own greatly in the ideals of a democratic society. Because of this perception,  most white working man...did not undertake to form a labor party  (Yates 114). Aside from this, the politics is dominated by the Democratic and the Republican Parties by tradition and  sanctioned by laws  making any attempt of any new party into the field predominantly nil of success (114). Also, society is wary of any  labor radicalism  either in the form of political parties or labor unions (114). This situation led Samuel Gompers, a famous labor leader, to remark that the working class should  abandon politics and concentrate on building labor parties  (115). This ideology became widespread in the years to follow only to be altered a little during the Great Depression when most workers come to the aid of candidates of the Democratic Party hoping that Democrats would serve them well. This paved the way for the union-Democrat alliance still in effect up to the present. In fact, in the 2006  Congressional elections, union voters provided Democrat candidates with a whooping 74 support gaining the party 233 House and 51 Senates seats (AFL-CIO n.p.). These figures are further magnified if one is to consider that one in every four voters belong to the working class. In the case of Decatur, Illinois a labor dispute between the workers of the A.E. Staley corn processing plant and the management lead to a greater solidarity of labor unions in the city and during the 1995 local elections successfully elected city leaders from their own ranks or supportive of their cause (Ashby  Hawking 210-211).

    Given this encouraging scenario, one is bound to believe that a labor party is on the rise. However, why is there a need for such a party Tommy Douglas presented a justification for the need of the labor movement to enter into mainstream politics by using the story of Mouseland as an analogy. Douglas argued that the working class, the mice in Mouseland, is primarily the majority of the society. Yet despite their strength in numbers, the mice population time and time again opted for cats, the politicians, to rule over them. This situation is detrimental to the worker  mice  as the  cats  would understandably look after their own interests and that of their kind and it does not matter what predisposition the cats have, the fact is, they are still cats and are thus alien to the plight of the  mice . Therefore, there is a need for the workers to coalesce and form a political alliance with one another in order to promote their own interests and protect their rights against the capitalists. As Royal Plankenhorn argued,  We have to break down the walls that divide us because his battle is my battle, my battle is his battle, and your battle is my battle. We cant succeed any other way  (as qtd. in Ashby  Hawkings 99).

    However, one needs to remember Gompers missive regarding efforts to enter into the political field. Gompers rightly observed that politics is a  divisive subject  which could potentially render collective efforts  impossible to sustain  (Yates 115). It is in this vein that he advised the labor movement  to abandon labor politics and concentrate on building labor unions  (115). One could observe that despite the congruence in goals of each and every labor union, they still fail to collectively come together and present a unified front. What is happening is that the labor movement is, on the most part, greatly confined to the concerns of union workers in any given locality. Thus, although the issues are one and the same if seen on a holistic perspective, there is an absence of the recognition of this fact, or at least, to coagulate in pursuit of a collective interest on a national level. Therefore, one can say that the time to create a national labor party which is not only competitive on the national level but would also be able to survive political storms is still not ripe. As Gompers advised, the labor movement first need to strengthen labor unions (115). Aside from this, the public is still in need of greater education in terms of workers rights and the plight of the working class. There is no question that majority of Americans still regard the labor movement, from unionism to the entry to politics, with wariness and caution. Although, union voters are steadily presents a unified front in national and local elections this does not translate to an assurance that a labor party would have the same support. There is still a need to educate the  ignorant  majority and win them over to the cause of the workers.

    In conclusion, a labor party in America is still a bit pre-mature as of this moment. There are still some important things, like public education and nationwide worker unification, to be achieved before even pondering whether or not to create such party. Although, the fact that a labor party is needed now more than ever, the working class need to consider the long-run. If a labor party is to be created, it must be one that would be able to weather political, economic and social conditions of the future. It must not only be responsive to the problems of the present but should be, at all times, present in order to forward the interests of the workers.