Moreover, he has no objection to using his power, having ended the earlier strike against American Airlines as it began. And he may have another opportunity to intervene when the UPS pilots' contract expires this fall. The union is talking about a possible Christmas strike. One can imagine the pressure hysterical mail order companies would then place on the president. Here, as elsewhere, government has metastasized beyond any appropriate role.
Labor relations are a private matter.
Government should only act as impartial arbiter, providing the judicial framework for adjudicating disputes and preventing violence. Questions such as whether workers should be represented by a union, and what terms employees and employers agree on, should not be answered by government. Especially when the Labor Department is a political payoff to unions, not a dispassionate problem-solver. The department has not, however limited itself to regulating employment relations. Congress should take out its wrecking ball.