Unions Just Exposed the Insanity of US Economic Policy

You can argue it both ways, but the individual candidates themselves aren’t really the story. That’s because there’s a new economic consensus in town, and it’s one that favors unions. Whoever becomes president of the United States in November, unions can only win.

Donald Trump’s promises to continue to strive for energy independence, to “stop outsourcing” (number five on his list of priorities on his website), and to “turn the United States into a manufacturing superpower” are exactly the kind of political cocktail that will appeal to Teamster members and many other workers.

Trump has always played well with this voter base because of this protectionist instinct – an instinct that is not without its drawbacks, of course, as the focus on making American products and buying American goods can often result in higher costs for consumers (which includes union members).

Kamala Harris isn’t offering much else. While she hasn’t promised a 10% tariff on imports, the “issues” page on her website suggests she’ll follow in her boss Joe Biden’s footsteps and spend much more on government-funded projects, meaning decent-paying jobs supported by the government.

The union’s voters may not know exactly what Harris’ plans are, but Teamster members need only think back a few years, when the president doled out a staggering $36 billion (£27 billion) in 2022 to plug the holes in the union’s leaky pension plan. If Harris has similar instincts, unions don’t have too much to worry about.

America is certainly not the only country to be changing its economic agenda to be more union-friendly. Here in the UK, Labour’s announcements have so far been dominated by bumper wages, with heavily unionised professions such as teachers, train drivers and junior doctors all getting inflation-busting pay rises.