Sen. Orrin Hatch on the Employee Free Choice Act
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAamIryaRHE Senator Orrin Hatch and Home Depot founder Bernie Marcus discussed the impact of EFCA on CNBC. Here is how blogger Nick Osinki described it: On CNBC this morning, they were interviewing the founders of Home Depot and they put it very bluntly. To paraphrase, they explained that this bill, if passed, would mean that a union [more...]

Posted Wed, 23 Jul 2008 .

Alter: Obama should take on teachers unions
Jonathan Alter has an interesting piece in Newsweek on education reform. He says that Obama can solidify his support among moderates by going up against teachers unions on the issues of merit-pay and teacher accountability. He runs through some of the more depressing statistics about the state of education today, including US students’ math skills [more...]

Posted Tue, 15 Jul 2008 .

State Of The Unions

Union officials claim to represent workers' interests. The numbers tell a different story. Here are some vital statistics to keep in mind:

Finances and Membership
Total Union Members in 2005:	15.7 million
Total Union Assets in 2004:	$15.7 billion

Union Officials and Staff
Total Union Officials and Staff in 2004:	175,000+
Total Union Officials and Staff Compensation in 2004:	$3.7 billion

Number of Union Officials and Staff Making More Than $75,000 in 2004:	13,875

Political Activity
Total Union Political Action Committees Registered in the 2004 cycle:	368
Union PAC Money Spent on Political Candidates (2003-2004):	$84.8 million

Diversity
Major Unions with White Presidents:	94%
Major Unions with Male Presidents:	95%

Discrimination
EEOC Discrimination Charges Filed Against Unions since 2000:	13,815
Fines Paid Resulting From EEOC Charges:	$6 million

Crime, Corruption, and Violence
Recorded Incidents of Union Violence and Intimidation since 1975:	9,000 +

Union Racketeering Indictments since 2001:	1,142
Fines Paid Resulting from DOL Racketeering Investigations since 2001:	$400 million

NLRB Activity
Total Unfair Labor Practices Filed Against Unions since 2000:	43,365
Total NLRB Elections Lost by Unions in 2004:	1,272