One of the favorite whipping boys for conservatives is labor unions.  The usual charges are that unions drive up production costs, and worse, they support the Democrats. It is difficult to understand why private-sector unions still support Democrats.  For example, Obama and Hillary promised to bankrupt the coal industry, which has resulted in the loss of over 75,000 coal miners, and Obama disallowed the Keystone Pipeline, which cost thousands of jobs to unions members such as Teamsters, plumbers, laborers, machinists, and operating engineers.  In both cases, Obama did the bidding of the environmental groups over the interests of workers in labor unions and non-union employees. The power of private-sector unions is now weak – and their decline has led to growth in the power of the federal government in matters dealing with employment issues.  It is circular, because the growth of the federal government has decreased the need for unions. Employers and...(Read Full Post)