I've still got my problems with Wal-Mart, but the health care offerings for their valued "associates" do seem to be getting better. This is, of course, entirely a function of the pressure unions have exerted on Wal-Mart -- pressure exerted despite the unions having almost no hope of actually unionizing Wal-Mart. Organized Labor has expended tens of millions of dolalrs over the past few years on this campaign, and while it hasn't increased union density one iota, it has given a hundred thousand Wal-Mart workers health insurance, spurred Wal-Mart to launch an effort to drive down prescription drug prices, drove them into the "Divided We Fail" health reform coalition, and contributed to the company's focus on greening their stores (they needed good press to counteract all the bad). This is why we need Organized Labor. They act as a countervailing force to make corporations think seriously about their roles in our society. No other powerful actors do that. But it needs to be done.
