It's basically a bribe -- there was pretty well-sourced reporting that UAW was going to lobby against the electric vehicle package because electric require less manufacturing labor than ICE cars do (ugh), so this was the way to buy them off. It's sort of annoying, but probably tactically the right move given how much power labor has in Democratic politics.
Doctors in the UK were effectively bribed to allow the National Health Service to be created. "I stuffed their mouths with gold" is the quote. Organised, doctors could have simply refused to take any part in this endeavour and killed it, but with some having sound ethical reason to agree with the plan and others having financial reasons that was enough to ensure that resistance was piecemeal and today even those who most want to destroy the NHS are obliged to couch this as "reform".
Really? The unions hold a lot of power, even today. That’s why the federal and California vaccine mandates have huge carve outs for the unions. The Democrats know who butters their bread and they’re willing to give them a pass knowing they’ll retain their votes next election.
It's a fairly common term. Ie Labor day, AFL union. But it doesn't have as common of a linguistic relationship it did in prior decades. I bet it's one of those things you'll start seeing everywhere.
It's not the autoworker or coalminer's fault and they and their communities should be considered in the solution, not just trampled over, for both political reasons and for basic justice.
