The corruption in organized labor is not merely in its distant past; it’s present, ongoing and growing. There are indictments and convictions of union officials for corruption on a regular basis.

While it is true that all human institutions always fall short of the ideal, labor unions in the United States base their power on injustice. The injustices of monopoly bargaining and compulsory dues and fees are the foundations of union power today.

In my twenty years as a union member, I saw how that kind of power fostered arrogance and hubris in the ranks of the union leadership. When I, as a member, questioned the policies of the union, such as support for abortion, and the political agenda of the radical left, I was attacked personally and told that if I didn’t agree with them, it was up to me to change. I had foolishly believed that I had joined the union to protect my interests on the job, not to change the world into a socialist utopia.

After resigning from the union and trying to exercise my legal right to refrain from financing Big Labor’s political agenda, I was lied to by national union officials for years. Not until the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation assisted me with free legal representation was I able to achieve some degree of justice.

As far as your reference to a race to the bottom goes, it is being led by the John Sweeney and the AFL-CIO through its effort to deny rank and file employees the opportunity to have a secret ballot election when deciding on union representation by promoting the cynically named Employee Free Choice Act. I do not see how workers are benefited by being forced to vote under the watchful eyes of union officials and their employers. You’re right - this isn’t America anymore.

Bismarck