Ontario's Unions Are Asking The Wrong Question

His union dropped out of the OFL "because I don't have a lot of confidence in them," but Thomas wanted to hear "what can we do to keep Hudak from getting elected."

What is the Labour Movement's end goal?  To stop Tories from gaining power to protect existing gains?  

What is Hudak's goal, but the undercutting of organized labour so as to free up the market?

Good luck to the both of them.  They've misidentified the problem and are therefore pursuing the wrong path.

Labour, at least in theory, wants a happy, healthy, properly compensated and sustainable workforce.  

That's would be a good thing for our economy, which is what Hudak theoretically wants - more business in Ontario for a stronger economy to support infrastructure and be there for those who really need it.

Which, in turn, is good for workers, because when they know their kids are in safe schools, getting the preparation they need for future success; when they know public infrastructure is safe and dependable and when they know the resources they need if something should go wrong - illness, an accident, etc - are there, then they can focus more intently on work.

But practice is not theory and behavioural economics is not about money or sustainability.

Labour is a Political Party.  The Hudak Conservatives function like a Union.  Emphasis is placed on leadership and control by those who want to be influential, but to the detriment of the people who are actually counting on the institution to have their back.

When it becomes about winning, not achieving, etc.

If you want to solve a problem, people, don't stand against - work together.

Tim Hudak Apes Ozymandias

The PC "union bosses narrative" will only alienate voters at a time of growing economic anxiety.  

Hudak really isn't one to speak disparagingly about bosses; after all, every facet of his personal narrative is designed to portray himself as a boss, not a leader.

But then he has demonstrated willingness to work with others when the stakes are high enough, as they have been of late in Toronto.  He's also well aware that there is a much bigger threat looming over Ontario's economy, the strength of our institutions and the stability of our society.

Could that be his play?  Perhaps Hudak and his team are much more strategically altruistic than we think; that the whole hard-right, tough-on-everything approach could simply be a really a tricky gambit.

Maybe, like Ozymandias, Hudak feels that our fractured society needs a common enemy to rally against and, for the sake of the Public Good, is willing to be that foe.  If so, I tip my hat to him.

Meanwhile, as Sid Ryan brings his best Magneto rhetoric forward, I'd encourage him to take a hard look at the whole emerging cognitive labour thing.  He doesn't like being mainstream, which is his right - but instead of proselytizing from the margins, he could be leading from the front.

To each his own, right?  Or are we moving forward together again?

Time will tell.