Wow, I’m so glad that I had a Marxist-Leninist to tell me what any dog on the street knows, namely that unions set wage conditions for the non union workers in their given sectors and that as union workers take cuts so to will their non union counter parts. This tiered system has been growing for years with apprentices in the trades taking hits over a decade ago in my local and with the UFCW (grocery workers union) selling out new hires to keep up pension benefits for older members. This was always seen as the “lesser evil”option since there was no ready answer for pensions and there was little appetite for massive industrial action even among the rank and file. Things got to the point where the international of local 7 (the UFCW local here) stepping in and stopping a contract vote because they thought that too many members were willing to take the cuts.
Workers in general and union workers specifically face many challenges today, none of which will be solved by citing Lenin.