Margaret Levi

Many workers in 27 states do not have to pay for the benefits the unions provide for them.

States that include Michigan, Indiana and Wisconsin, former union strongholds.

And society loses big.

A recent study revealed that in right-to-work law states, there is slower economic growth, higher consumer debt, lower wages, worse health outcomes, and lower civic participation than in states without such laws on the books.

But it's not just employers and politicians that are holding unions back.

Unions are cause of some of their own problems.

Some unions are extremely bureaucratic, stifling debate and innovation.

Some union leaders are corrupt.

rigging elections, paying themselves humongous salaries, even when they represent very low-income workers, and some commit felonies.

Jimmy Hoffa is the notorious example of a labor leader who went to prison.

But just this year, several high-ranking officials in the United Auto Workers were sentenced for embezzlement.

Now, many critics, possibly some of you, blame unions for inflation.

When wages go up, consumer prices go up.

True enough.

But so does the standard of living for workers.

And we, as taxpayers, benefit from higher standards of living by workers.

The pandemic gave us the term essential workers.

If those in grocery, warehousing, food processing, delivery had strong unions, indeed, any unions at all, there would have been no need for federal programs for those who have jobs to feed their families and prevent evictions.

Now, there are many reasons for union decline, including structural ones, the decline in union jobs and manufacturing.

But a major reason is public lack of awareness, even misinformation about the value of unions.