Tim Nesbitt: Oregon's new minimum wage advances the role of government as a labor union

Oregonian (editorial):

In Oregon and other blue states, the minimum wage is increasingly seen as a path to self-sufficiency rather than a backstop against poverty. This is occurring at a time when unions' collective bargaining efforts affect few private sector workers, wage growth has stagnated and the middle class is feeling squeezed. So it's not surprising to see unions turn to political action rather than workplace organizing to advance a broad working families' agenda. Add the energy of a new generation of activists — burdened by college debt, disillusioned with their employment prospects and less trusting of free market ideology — and we are witnessing the emergence of government as the bargaining agent for a largely non-union workforce.

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