I’ve always wanted to go out and do a week-long series on how the labor movement built the middle-class in Las Vegas–you know, the labor movement that part of the Democratic Party just sold out by eviscerating the Employee Free Choice Act. So, it was with a bit of trepidation that I began reading this morning’s story in The Wall Street Journal, "As Boom Times Sour in Vegas, Upward Mobility Goes Bust". But, it does give a fair amount of credit to the labor movement, if slightly without a flourish:

Union workers — who account for the bulk of employment along the Las Vegas Strip — saw their pay grow by 12.6% between 2000 and 2008, while union workers nationwide saw an increase of 2.9%, according to the Economic Policy Institute. Nevada’s non-union pay increased by 5.4% in the same period, while wages for all workers in the U.S. increased by 1.6%.

The union made upward mobility part of the Vegas allure. In Vegas, the union-negotiated salary for a hotel maid is still $14.25 an hour. In contrast, the median wage for the same worker in Orlando is $8.84 an hour; in Phoenix, it’s $9.25, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

While the union sent casino workers’ salaries and benefits up, tips were often what helped push ordinary workers into the world of posh condos and sports cars. Tips could triple the base pay of casino workers who dealt directly with guests. Gamblers who hit it big on the tables; young visitors who spent thousands for bottle service at night clubs; and businessmen treating clients to lavish dinners, were all free and easy with gratuities, say current and former casino workers. Valet attendants could take home an average of $500 a week in tips, while room-service waiters at swankier properties could earn $600 a week in tips, often outstripping their weekly base salaries.

   And, so you wonder–is the anti-union ideology so blind that the Republican Party and the corporate-friendly spineless wing of the Democratic Party can’t see the basic facts that if you kill the labor movement you can kiss the American middle-class goodbye?