This was not a good year for organized labor. Despite expending massive resources, Big Labor could not oust Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker in a recall; Michigan, home of the United Auto Workers, became a right-to-work state; the Supreme Court ruled against unionists in the landmark case Knox v. SEIU, limiting their ability to extract dues from nonmembers; and union numbers continued to dwindle, falling to just 6.9 percent of the private sector.

But Big Labor may have won the battle that matters the most: the presidential election. In the last month, the White House has since been busy rewriting regulations in a way that favors unions at every turn.