Why do Republicans want to destroy the last good jobs?

I'm 54 years old. I remember a time when Democrats and unions ran things and blue collar workers earned the equivalent of $30 an hour and were in the middle cl, not the near-minimum wage they get today at Wal Mart. And yet all I hear here is how the workers at GM get paid too much. What are we, a nation of masochists? Why would anyone support Republican free trade/anti union policies that have steadily pushed down the hourly earnings of working Americans, while the top few percent keep earning more and more?