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Big Labor and Big Government -- there's little difference
By: Mark Hemingway
Commentary Staff Writer
11/13/09 1:37 PM EST
A new Heritage foundation study shows that while the percentage of the American workforce that is unionized is holding steady, there's actually a huge difference in the composition of those union workers. Private sector unions continue to dwindle, but public sector unionization is on the rise:
Who do the words “union members” bring to mind? United Auto Workers building cars in Detroit? Teamsters truckers hauling freight? Steel workers in Pennsylvania?
Not any more. Newly released numbers show that the actual face of today’s union movement is the teller at your local Department of Motorized Vehicles.
Preliminary estimates of union membership this year show that most union members now work for the government. The overall unionization rate between January and September 2009 stood at 12.4%, unchanged from last year. However, this difference masks a large difference between unions in the private and public sectors.
This is not good news for those who value efficient, frugal and honest government.
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