How Unions Can Help Innovation

By Gary Shaprio/Forbes

President Obama is the most union-friendly president in decades, but his pro-labor tilt has hurt U.S. job creation. Consider how in just the last few months, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has discouraged companies from investing in the United States and hiring American workers. In just the past year, the NLRB has forbid Boeing from opening a plant in South Carolina, which would employ around 1,000 people; amended unionization rules that all but legalize “card-check,” which was so anti-business it couldn’t even pass a Democratic Congress; and, just last month, required that employers litter their workplaces with guidelines for unionization.

Since the days when my dad was a union organizer Big Labor has done some great things for American workers. But today’s unions have expanded their primary mission – protecting workers – to the point where they are actively attacking businesses. Not coincidentally, private-sector union membership has sunk considerably in recent decades, as more and more workers realize that the goal of unions is to grow the unions and expand labor leaders’ political power.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/garyshapiro/2011/09/21/how-unions-can-help-innovation/

Tagged as: Big Labor, card-check, education reform, NLRB, President Obama