The Wall Street Journal reports:
It’s now official: In 2009 the number of unionized workers who work for the government surpassed those in the private economy for the first time. This milestone explains a lot about modern American politics, in particular the paradox that union clout with Democrats has increased even as fewer workers belong to unions overall.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported recently that 51.4% of America’s 15.4 million union members, or about 7.91 million workers, were employed by the government in 2009. As recently as 1980, there were more than twice as many private as public union members. But private union membership has continued to decline, even as unions have organized more public employees. The nearby chart shows the historical trend.
Overall, union membership is still declining but the trend here is ominous. In many ways, the rise of government unions is more pernicious than private unions. When private unions get out of control, employers go bankrupt — see Detroit. When public unions get out of control, the government just keeps raising your taxes to keep up with the absurd benefits that public employees keep demanding.
For further reading on just how out of control public employee unions are, this recent Reason magazine cover story, “Class War:
How public servants became our masters,” is essential reading.
