Big Labor spent a record-breaking billion dollars during the 2008 election cycle and then spent hundreds of millions more in 2010, nearly all of which went to elect and protect Democratic politicians. But what does Big Labor get in return?

For starters, union bosses enjoy government-granted monopoly bargaining privileges to demand employees pay union dues or fees as a condition of employment, even if they want nothing to do with the union. But if that wasn’t enough, union chiefs are still pushing for ways to expand their forced-dues powers.