Cory Booker has become the latest Democratic presidential candidate to back unionizing entire industries by supporting a concept called “sectoral bargaining.” The idea dates back to the 1930s and involves the federal government creating union-management committees that would set wages and other work standards.

The change, if adopted, would radically shift the business landscape across the United States. Under sectoral bargaining, unions would be granted enormous power over industries, while businesses would be strictly limited in the workplace policies they could adopt. All workers in an industry would be represented by the union officials on the committees.