S03E02 – Busting Unions and a Failed Red Wave

In this episode of Finding Common Battle Grounds, Nate and Tom tackle two topics: (1) Why was the Biden Administration wrong to bust the railroad workers union? (2) How are Republicans responsible for the smaller-than-expected mid-term red wave? On the first topic, Nate argues that the Biden Administration revealed that their allegiance really lies with corporate profits rather than the unions. This was particularly galling since Democrats tend to side with unions – in principle – and unions often tend to vote for Democrats as a result. Tom argued that unions have now become part of the economic marketplace and strikes are the strongest weapon workers have to push for better pay and conditions. By removing that option, Tom argued that the Biden Administration hurt workers. While taking different paths to get there, both Nate and Tom argued that the Biden Administration hurt workers with the forced agreement. On the second topic, both Nate and Tom agreed that polling appears to be problematic when it comes to predicting election outcomes, but it’s not clear why. It also isn’t exactly clear who or what is to blame for the much smaller red wave than was expected – Trump, the end of Roe v Wade, or something else. What they did agree on is that, while voters do tend to side with their party, voters may be slightly more sophisticated in their voting practices than we typically think.