In a study released by Brigham Young University, MIT-trained economist Brigham Fransen found that average wages in newly organized companies fell by three percent, including all private-sector union elections since 1980. Looking more closely at the data, the main reason for the decline is the exodus from newly unionized companies of the top-performing (and usually more highly paid) employees. When those employees are factored out of the equation, wages do not change at all. Obviously, most union organizers would prefer this reality to remain hidden!