To your list of complaints about unions, I would add the role of public employee unions in making government at all levels much less effective at achieving progressive goals. They are a principal reason why it's so hard to hire the right people, fire those who aren't working out, outsource where it makes sense and insource where it doesn't.
And the political economy of fixing that is going to be particularly tricky, since those unions in particular are such a powerful part of the Democratic coalition, and it's hard to stand against them right now without being seen as an ally of the Trump/Musk criminal wrecking crew. But this is a big part of what Yglesias is getting at with his "Common Sense Democrat Manifesto" plank: "Public services and institutions like schools deserve adequate funding, and they must prioritize the interests of their users, *not their workforce* (emphasis mine) or abstract ideological projects."
To your list of complaints about unions, I would add the role of public employee unions in making government at all levels much less effective at achieving progressive goals. They are a principal reason why it's so hard to hire the right people, fire those who aren't working out, outsource where it makes sense and insource where it doesn't.
And the political economy of fixing that is going to be particularly tricky, since those unions in particular are such a powerful part of the Democratic coalition, and it's hard to stand against them right now without being seen as an ally of the Trump/Musk criminal wrecking crew. But this is a big part of what Yglesias is getting at with his "Common Sense Democrat Manifesto" plank: "Public services and institutions like schools deserve adequate funding, and they must prioritize the interests of their users, *not their workforce* (emphasis mine) or abstract ideological projects."
Just file a few rough edges off of Up Right and you’ve got Up Left.