[xoxoxoBruce]

The founding fathers set up a three way balance of power between the executive, legislative, and courts, to keep everything cool. They couldn't foresee the rise of corporations giving the power/money to a small segment of privileged.
The result was an economic roller coaster, recession after recession, as the power was now a two way between the government and the robber barons, with the people just collateral damage.

The great depression was the last straw, so FDR & Co passed laws for unions to make the people the balancing third party. It worked well, making the country thrive, keeping the wealthy rich, and building a consumer middle class. Go us and U.S.

Unions are like mini-democracies, and as the workers got complacent they neglected the union and government, letting scumbags take control. But even as the scumbags were making themselves rich, they were still doing well by the workers.

Enter a new type of robber barons who had all the money they could ever need but wanted more just for bragging rights, and didn't give a shit about the country. They needed to break the power balance, and even buying politicians/lobbyists the federal government was too strong.

That left the unions as the only viable target. The only way was to break the unions by circumventing them with a "global economy", then a state by state campaign to castrate the unions with anti-collective bargaining and "right to work" laws.