The American Spectator

The Nation's Pulse

What Big Labor Wants

By Ivan Osorio on 8.29.08 @ 12:08AM

(Page 2 of 2)

"Union-negotiated pension schemes consistently maintain dangerously low ratios of assets to liabilities," notes Diana Furchtgott-Roth, the study's author and former chief economist at the U.S. Department of Labor. "Although nearly 90 percent of non-union funds had at least 80 percent of the funds they need, only 60 percent of union plans were at or above that mark."

Compared to pension plans for rank-and-file employees, the pensions funds for union officers and staff were in much better shape -- which undermines the argument that lower pension fund values could be explained by weaknesses in the economy or the stock market. "The success of the officers' funds shows the heads of the national organization know how to properly fund a pension plan if they choose to," explains Furchtgott-Roth.

But apparently many union officials choose to pursue activism in causes that don't directly benefit their members, instead. Corralling in new members would allow this Ponzi scheme-like arrangement to continue, feeding money into underperforming pension funds.

So, to answer our original question, Big Labor wants more members and more dues money to spend on politics -- and it wants Uncle Sam's help in getting them.

Happy Labor Day!

Letter to the Editor

topics:
Environment, Hollywood, Law, Unions