Interestingly, the intermingling of organized crime and organized labor was a pretty symbiotic relationship. Crime Syndicates need an above-the-board way of targeting people and companies that step out of line, which the unions provided by stopping work. The unions need an under-the-table way of dealing with scabs, strikebreakers, and uncooperative management, which the mob provided with violence.
Unions seeking out parallel power structures separate from the dominant government is a direct consequence of the government actively siding against labor at every turn.
Unions seeking out parallel power structures separate from the dominant government is a direct consequence of the government actively siding against labor at every turn.