Here's why union membership keeps falling

Folks in Springfield, Ill., witnessed a bizarre scene two years ago. Thousands protested outside the Capitol, chanting: "Raise my taxes! Raise my taxes! Raise my taxes!"

Who protests for higher taxes?

Government unions do. The American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees helped organize the rally.

This is the new face of the union movement. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported this past Friday that union rates fell again last year. Fewer than one of every eight Americans now belong to unions.

Of those, most work in the government; less than 7 percent of private-sector workers belong to unions. The Postal Service employs twice as many union members as the auto industry does.

Competition makes it difficult for private-sector unions to survive. During the 1950s, a third of Americans belonged to unions -- during a tightly regulated economy with few international competitors.

Americans could choose to buy expensive union-made cars from Ford, or expensive union made cars from General Motors, or expensive union-made cars from Chrysler.

Deregulation and free trade have since made the economy more competitive, giving Americans more choices. Now Americans can buy from whomever offers the most value. Unfortunately for the union movement, that company is often nonunion.

The auto industry. The steel industry. Trucking. Construction. Unionized companies have fallen behind in industry after industry. This makes organizing new members difficult.

Few workers want their company to wind up like General Motors or Bethlehem Steel. Only one of every 10 nonunion workers tells pollsters he or she wants to join a union. Unionization rates are lower now than when President Franklin Roosevelt signed the National Labor Relations Act in 1935.

Unions remain strong in government because government has no competition. It does not matter how efficiently or wastefully the government operates. Americans must pay their taxes or go to jail.

So in government, unions can raise costs without risking their jobs. The taxpayers must pick up the tab. Government unions have remained strong because of these factors. They now represent two of every five government employees. ...

READ MORE>>