Last weekend, Americans fired up their grills to enjoy the Labor Day holiday. Now it's time for people who care about working-class Americans to address the challenge facing them from big labor unions.
Unions are supposed to stand up for their members' interests, but in recent years, they have gone far off track. Once champions of fair wages and safe working conditions, many modern unions have devolved into bloated bureaucracies plagued by corruption, coercion and a glaring political disconnect between their leadership and rank-and-file members. It's time we confront these realities and advocate for policies that empower individual workers over entrenched union hierarchies.
Unions today often do more harm than good for the people they claim to represent. Far from voluntary associations, many operate under compulsory structures where workers are forced to join or pay dues as a condition of employment. This "union shop" model stifles job growth, reduces workplace flexibility and burdens businesses with rigid rules that hinder innovation and competitiveness.
In states without right-to-work laws, employees can lose their jobs for refusing to fund union activities they disagree with -- a direct assault on their personal freedom. Moreover, unions frequently prioritize political agendas over practical gains, funneling hundreds of millions in member dues into partisan causes their members oppose and do little to improve their daily lives. The result? Slower economic mobility for workers and higher costs for consumers, all while union membership continues its decades-long decline as more Americans opt out of these outdated models.
Compounding these systemic flaws is a wave of high-level corruption that erodes trust and siphons resources meant for workers. Recent scandals reveal how union bosses treat member dues like personal slush funds. Take the United Auto Workers, where leadership's risky investment decisions reportedly cost the union an estimated $80 million, sparking internal turmoil and allegations of mismanagement. Or consider the Service Employees International Union, where longtime President George Gresham was ousted amid revelations that he used union money to lavishly spend on himself, his family and political allies.
These aren't isolated incidents; in 2024 alone, the Department of Labor documented 177 enforcement actions against unions for fraud, embezzlement, wire fraud and falsified records. Congressional investigations have targeted a dozen unions for similar abuses, highlighting a pattern of self-dealing that diverts funds from pensions, training programs and strike support. When union officials embezzle or racketeer, it's the everyday worker who pays the price through diminished benefits and tarnished reputations.
Perhaps most troubling is the growing chasm between union leaders' policy stances and the actual views of their members. Union bosses, often ensconced in Washington or state capitals, pour millions into liberal causes and Democratic campaigns, even as their grassroots base leans increasingly conservative or independent. In the 2024 election, while top labor officials doubled down on Democratic endorsements and criticized Republican outreach, many union households shifted toward Donald Trump.
Polls show union members are more likely than nonunion workers to support Democrats overall. However, the gap is narrowing, with 45 percent of union voters backing Trump in 2024 -- up from previous cycles -- while their leaders railed against him as "anti-worker." As one analysis put it, unions are "fighting for" agendas that alienate their own ranks, turning what should be worker advocacy into partisan activism.
Now that the Labor Day parades are over and the speeches are done, let's honor workers by pushing for real reform. Expand right-to-work laws nationwide to give employees the choice to opt out without fear of reprisal. Demand greater financial transparency from unions, including audits and restrictions on political spending from dues. And encourage alternatives such as worker cooperatives or direct employer-employee negotiations that bypass corrupt intermediaries. True worker empowerment comes from freedom, not force, and from markets that reward merit, not monopolies that protect the powerful.
America's laborers deserve better than scandals and schisms. By liberating them from union bosses' grasp, we can build an economy where every worker thrives on their own terms.
Eric Ventimiglia serves as executive director of Pinpoint Policy Institute, a nonpartisan, nonprofit educational organization dedicated to promoting and defending the essential pillars of American prosperity. He wrote this for InsideSources.com.