Bob Crow is in a no win situation.
But by remaining in subsidised housing, surely it can be argued that he's effectively depriving those in real need, since social housing is - and always has been - experiencing a shortage of available units.
I think Crow is very much in the Scargill mould. He's from the old-school of union leadership which believes in a simplistic model of 'Us and Them', Management and Worker', 'Exploited and Exploiter'. I think we've moved substantially beyond that, now, and the '70s - if they taught us anything - showed us that the relationship between the worker and the company in which they're employed is far from simple. Short term, I have little doubt that he'll appear effective as the train companies, in particular, will simply acquiesce to his demands and the members will apparently get more money. But, rather like the miners, one has to wonder if the endless rounds of strategic striking, increases in salary and a constant portrayal of the companies involved as capitalistic monoliths will eventually result in companies going to the wall and the loss of the jobs for those whom he implied he was protecting.
