Labor Day State of the Unions

Mark Alexander has a butt kicker of a post up. He writes

One union watchdog organization, Union Facts online, reports, “Of the AFL-CIO’s $82 million in discretionary disbursements from July 2004 to June 2005, only 36 percent went to representing members in labor negotiations—which is what unions were created to do. A whopping $49 million, or 60 percent of its budget, instead went to political activities and lobbying, while another $2.4 million went to contributions, gifts and grants.”

Union Facts reports further: “The National Institute for Labor Relations Research estimated that total union political expenditures reached $925 million in the 2004 cycle. Over time, this has added up: According to The Center for Responsive Politics, eight of the top ten all-time political contributors are labor unions... CNN exit polls showed that 38 percent of union members voted for President Bush in the 2004 election, but more than 95 percent of union funds went to support Democratic presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry.”

I encourage you to read the whole article here.

Technorati Tags: Labor, Unions