UCLA's Institute for Research on Labor and Employment reports that U.S. unionization rates rose a half a percentage point over 2007, to 12.6 percent of all workers in 2008.  According to the report, California fueled the increase.  California accounts for 16 percent of all U.S. union members, with a unionization rate of 17.8 percent.  The study reports that 1.2 million of California's 2.6 million union members live in the Los Angeles metro area (more on this at bottom).

Unsurprisingly, the Institute's website indicates a pro labor slant.  Their Spring 2008 newsletter announces the launch of the Miguel Contreras Worker Resource Center.  The Center is dedicated to the vision of the late labor organizer Miguel Contreras. Known as "a king-maker for both local and state politicians," Contreras was instrumental in the election of Fabian Nunez to the State Assembly, and Nunez' subsequent election as Speaker.  (Contreras died of a heart attack in 2005 at a downtown L.A. botánica, or dispensary of herbal medicines, that was later busted in a prostitution sting operation.)

According to the Institute's newsletter, the Contreras Center is dedicated to organizing immigrant workers (your tax dollars at work).  According to María Elena Durazo, executive secretary-treasurer of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO, the Contreras Center "is forging alliances among the labor movement and community-based centers, and unifying immigrant and native-born workers. This is where the future of L.A. lies." 

The UCLA Institute's pro labor slant is shared by another taxpayer funded labor institute, the UC Berkeley Center for Labor Research and Education.  Ken Jacobs, chair of the Berkeley Center, believes that the deck is stacked against labor organizing, arguing for the federal "Employee Free Choice Act", which would replace secret ballot elections with card check.  According to Jacobs, labor law "reform" is essential for "union growth and rebirth", arguing that "We have a situation now that makes it exceedingly difficult for workers to organize and bargain collectively if they face any strong employer opposition."  UCLA's outgoing director, sociology professor Ruth Milkman, agrees, claiming that "This would give unions a fair chance if workers want to belong to a union. It would help level what has become a very lopsided playing field."

GOP presidential candidate John McCain opposes the card check law (which was co-sponsored by Barrack Obama), favoring a Secret Ballot Protection Act that would better protect workers from intimidation.  As The Atlantic's Clive Crook points out, secret ballot protects both workers supporting unionization and those who oppose it.  Card check is transparently self-interested legislation supported only by the Big Labor interests backing Obama.

What is driving California's unionization numbers?  Illegal aliens?  No, says UCLA's Milkman, "The very strong public sector here - that's a lot of what is driving this."  The unionization rate in Sacramento is 23 percent (with California's private sector unionization rate at a mere 10 percent, and 7 to 8 percent nationwide.)  Is it any surprise then that Big Labor supports Obama and Big Government initiatives like government-run healthcare and universal preschool? 

At times like this, its important to remember that pro labor Democrat FDR opposed public sector unionization on the grounds that government workers enjoy a monopoly on the services that they provide.  "Collective bargaining," said FDR, "cannot be transplanted into public service."  This would be, he said, "the Hitler methods towards labor."