The biggest problem with this country is that we don't have a culture of solidarity. The Republicans have done a great job convincing Americans that union workers are an elite that needs to be taken down a peg, while shielding the people at the top of the economic pyramid who are causing all of the suffering. As you point out, even some union members think like this. Just an anecdote, but I know a truck driver, a Teamster, who scoffs at attempts by fast-food workers and other low-wage service workers to unionize. He says that they are just "burger-flippers" and don't deserve higher wages or better benefits. It apparently doesn't dawn on him that people often hold the same views on truck drivers and think that he is overpaid for the kind of job he does.
Another factor that is feeding into this mentality is the idea that those who don't obtain a higher education deserve to work bad jobs. This idea has been pushed for decades by politicians from both major parties who told the public that education was the only road to a middle-class lifestyle. So now we have an increasingly vicious competition for the few decent professional class slots available in our workforce while those who don't "make the grade" are seen as losers. I blame the Democrats for pushing this narrative too while forgetting that most Americans still have less than a 4-year degree and that even those who do are not necessarily in great shape financially either.
We need to get back to the old idea that all Americans deserve a decent standard of living no matter what job type or education level they have. Why do people scoff at janitors when they perform very important and necessary work, keeping our buildings clean? Millions of Americans love to eat out yet they despise the people who prepare their meals.
We need to put an end to the "culture of meanness" as Ian Welsh put it. Here is his blog post on the subject. I found it to be very interesting and useful for understanding the current American culture.
http://www.ianwelsh.net/the-culture-of-meanness/
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