Unions for the working man???

I have long felt labor unions were primarily for losers. There was a time when they were a positive improvement for workers who let themselves be exploited, but since the workers were unable to perceive their situation correctly and respond accordingly, they were doomed to become exploited again by a different group. This has happened with modern unions. The Wall Street Journal recaps some of the ways in which the various unions spend the dues paid by the membership who actually work. The Bush administration a few years ago passed laws requiring unions to detail how they spend their money. Previously, they would lump big slugs of money in a category called "sundry expenses". As might be expected, the unions were not happy with this requirement. Now, the AFL-CIO is forced to report that $82 million of discretionary disbursements from July 2004 to June 2005 was divided in such a way that 36% went to represent its members in negotiations and 60% went to political activities and lobbying. The National Education Association spent only 33% on improving members working lot. Of course, most of the political money goes to losers like John Kerry and to such groups as Citizens for Tax Justice which works to raise taxes. Kinda sad, really.