What keeps Malthusian economics from eliminating the middle class?

As Paul Krugman notes in his new book The Conscience of a Liberal, “middle-class societies don’t emerge automatically as an economy matures, they have to be created through political action."

Jane Hamsher at Firedoglake discusses the efforts by hospital workers in Boston to hold an election on whether or not to unionize. Here is the list of requests the workers have presented to the Hospital CEOs.

• Management agrees to abstain from spending any patient care resources on efforts to dissuade employees from unionizing.
• Both the union and the employer agree not to disparage each other and to present only factual information.
• Employees are allowed to exchange and discuss information about unionization.
• Management does not take a position on unionization, but allows employees to make up their own minds.
• Employees are given access to union representatives and information at the workplace.
• Management agrees to schedule an election without delays and respect the decision employees make.
• Management and the union agree to a fair, timely and binding enforcement process for these guidelines.

The hospital CEOs have declared these to be "outrageous demands."

It is extremely interesting that every one of these so-called "outrageous demands." is permitted under federal labor law, and refusal by employers to allow these points is a violation of federal labor law - but the Labor Relations Board refuses to enforce these things.