Robert Reich, former U.S. labor secretary, is calling out what he sees as a dangerous and deliberate pattern from America’s biggest corporations.
In a post shared on X, Reich summed it up in five steps: “1) Exploit workers to maximize profits 2) Use profits to buy Congress 3) Use Congress to pass union-busting laws 4) Use these laws to further exploit workers 5) Repeat.”
His short message came with a longer explanation in a video titled How Corporations Crush the Working Class.
Reich said, “The most dramatic change in the system over the last half century has been the emergence of corporate giants like Amazon and the shrinkage of labor unions.”
From GM to Amazon: What Changed?
Fifty years ago, General Motors was the biggest employer in the U.S. According to Reich, the typical GM worker earned the equivalent of $35 an hour today and had a say in working conditions.
The key difference wasn’t that their work was more valuable, it was that they had a strong union behind them.
“The typical GM worker wasn’t worth so much more than today’s Amazon or Walmart worker,” Reich said. “The difference is those GM workers had a strong union.”
Back then, more than one-third of American workers were unionized. Today, only 6.4% of private-sector workers are.
Political Power Shifted
Reich pointed out that as unions declined, corporate influence in politics grew.
In the past, organized labor had enough power to push the government to enforce labor laws and make sure big companies supported a strong middle class.
Now, he said, “the biggest political players are giant corporations like Amazon.”
These companies, according to Reich, have backed “right-to-work laws, whittled down federal labor protections,” and left the National Labor Relations Board understaffed and overwhelmed.
He also said that corporations have used their influence to secure tax breaks, pressure states and cities, and support trade deals that make outsourcing easier.
That shift, Reich said, has left many blue-collar workers with few options other than low-wage, high-stress warehouse and delivery jobs.
What It Means for Workers
Reich said that corporate power has also chipped away at antitrust laws that once kept companies from becoming too dominant.
The result? “A massive upward redistribution of income and wealth,” he said.
“The richest one-tenth of 1% of Americans now have almost as much wealth as the bottom 90% put together.”
But he believes change is possible. He called for stronger labor laws, better trade agreements, and tougher antitrust enforcement.
He also noted that the Biden administration and some lawmakers have shown a willingness to push labor reform.
“I’d like to think America is at a tipping point,” Reich said, comparing the current moment to the Progressive Era that followed the Gilded Age over a century ago.
Reich made his point unmistakable: the cycle won’t break on its own.
“They need all the support we can give them,” he said, urging people to back today’s labor movement.
Whether or not you agree with every point, his argument hits on a growing frustration: many workers feel stuck in a system where the rules keep being rewritten against them.
IMAGE CREDIT: “Robert Reich” by Albaum, CC0 1.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Image adjusted for layout