President Bush wants a society in which any American can be “an agent of his or her own destiny.” In which Americans “have a real stake in the promise of America.” In which Americans feel invested, in which work is rewarded, in which people feel that their efforts are helping to “make our society more prosperous and just and equal.”

To look for a model of this society, we need look no further than a labor union.

Union a Mini-Society

A labor union is a mini-society in which all different kinds of people are united by their common desire to work hard, take care of their children and retire in comfort. Workers pay dues each week, and with that investment they are guaranteed a place in the American Dream.

Perhaps that’s why so many Americans want to join unions. In fact, almost one in two would join a union if they were given the opportunity. Many want to declare unions dead – especially with news that union membership has dropped – but like the old joke goes: nobody goes there anymore, it’s too crowded. Rumors of the death of unions have been greatly exaggerated, though there is a danger of it becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy.

The proof of the success of unions is in the lives of its members. Almost 70% of union workers have a guaranteed, defined benefit pension. Union workers earn as much as 25% more than their non-union counterparts, and three in four union workers have health benefits compared to only 49% of non-union workers. And we’re not talking just about factory workers. Nurses, security guards, computer programmers, retail clerks – these are union members, too.

In fact, it was the growth of unions that led to the development of the middle class in this country. Some think that the middle class just appeared along with station wagons and manicured lawns. Unions took jobs that had no dignity and turned them into good jobs, jobs that put food on the table and made people proud.

So why aren’t more people in unions? Well, because hard-working Americans want to keep working. In 25% of organizing campaigns in the private sector, employers illegally fire workers just because they want to form a union. Half of employers threaten plant closings if employees join together in a union. In this unforgiving economy, who can take that kind of a risk?

Remove Obstacles

The government should make it easier to join a union. At a time when our country is being split into two – the very wealthy, and then all of the rest of us – we should go back to what works. There’s legislation out there to tear down the barriers to union membership, like the Employee Free Choice Act. And the government should act to punish companies that break labor laws and take unfair advantage of their employees. The President often talks about putting control back in the hands of the people – well, control over the decision to join a union is one that should be left up to people, too.

Democrats are making a big mistake when they unilaterally dismiss the President’s “Ownership Society” or think that they know better than the Americans who believe in it. Truth is, too many Americans feel like life is happening to us and we’re trying to keep up.

Bush Plan is No Answer

The proposals that constitute the “Ownership Society,” however, don’t address the obstacles to controlling our futures. The middle class is under attack, drowning in a sea of skyrocketing health care costs and tuition, and many of us are losing – as the dramatic increase in bankruptcies filed by middle-class families demonstrates. In unions, you get to own your fate, even when the choices are hard to make, like striking to ensure that your fellow workers are paid fairly. In the President’s “Ownership Society,” the market too often owns you.

Unions may seem antiquated today, a relic of the past. But so, for too many of us, is the American Dream. Democrats have a responsibility to listen to the aspirations of Americans. But Republicans, those who are in power today, have a responsibility to create policy that addresses the actual obstacles preventing Americans from achieving our shared dream.

Andrea Batista Schlesinger is executive director of the Drum Major Institute for Public Policy.

Executive Director of the Drum Major Institute for Public Policy