Liberals typically celebrate Labor Day with a bit more enthusiasm than do conservatives. That’s because conservatives often see labor unions as inherently antagonistic institutions that are anti-business or socialist. Conservatives also understand that labor unions largely exist to get Democrats elected to Congress.

Some conservative critiques of Big Labor are true, but they need not remain so. Unions could be something much more than political units operating inside industry. In fact, they have been and in some places still are something much more: institutions of civil society.