Super article from David Broder on the weakness of the labor lobby. His statistics could use more than a little work (his source, EPI, is heavily funded by organized labor). The wage gap number is just plain wrong (this is a .pdf file of the most recent BLS statistics that will download on your computer – it shows the most recent union-non-union wage gap of under $4.50 per hour, and this statistic is often criticized by economists for overstating the gap). Also no mention of the economic “dead-weaight” impact of monopoly rents negotiated by unions (another .pdf study arguing that unions increase unemployment and reduce economic growth – costing the U.S. economy trillions over time). However, the anecdotal observations of a Washington “insider” about the weakness of the labor lobby are very interesting to note.
