Jacob S. Hacker and Paul Pierson: “But unions play another role, too – one more like that of civic groups than private associations. Although they want “more” for their members, they also want to make good middle-class jobs the norm. And the most important way they pursue this larger goal isn’t by demanding concessions at the bargaining table, but by operating as a counterweight to the demands of corporations and Wall Street in the corridors of power. That is precisely why opponents of organized labor are seizing upon state fiscal troubles to try to destroy its remaining clout.”