Betrayal

How Union Bosses Shake Down Their Members and Corrupt American Politics

By: Linda Chavez, Daniel Gray

Narrated by: Linda Chavez

Length: 6 hrs and 14 mins

Publisher's summary

“Simply put, the leftist labor unions have the Democrats in their pockets. And we’re all paying the price.”

Linda Chavez, President George W. Bush’s original choice for Secretary of Labor and a former union official, is one of the foremost authorities on America’s labor unions. Now, in the explosive new book Betrayal, she and fellow union expert Daniel Gray expose the corrupt bargain between the labor movement and the Democratic Party.

Committed to a far-left political agenda—and to enhancing their own power—union bosses funnel at least half a billion dollars into Democratic coffers every year. And they do it, illegally, by using dues money that workers are forced to pay as a condition of their employment—dues money that each year brings the unions $17 billion, all of it tax-free. What do labor bosses get in return? The power to call the shots in Democratic campaigns and on party policy, extraordinary influence at all levels of government, billions of dollars in taxpayer-funded federal grants, and special legal privileges that leave them free to act as they please, no matter the consequences for the American people. The cycle of corruption is seemingly endless.

Chavez and Gray name names, exposing the many politicians who are in Big Labor’s pocket—including the leading lights of the Democratic Party. Betrayal also reveals:

• Big Labor’s all-out efforts in the 2004 election, including how just one local union has launched a $35-million campaign to unseat President Bush

• How corrupt union officials use members’ hard-earned money to fund lavish lifestyles—and how their Democratic supporters let them get away with it

• How unions flout the law by failing to report any of their political spending to the IRS

• How a government report uncovered the Democrats’ sellout to Big Labor—but how the unions and the Democrats sued to keep the report from going public

• How the U.S. government lets unions practice legalized terrorism against American citizens

• How public-employee unions extort concessions from the government and put Americans at risk by refusing to provide vital services like policing and firefighting

• How Americans now live under a system of legal apartheid—one set of rules for labor bosses, another for the rest of us

All of us foot the bill for this corrupt system. Now it’s up to us to do something about it.

©2004 Linda Chavez and Daniel Gray (P)2004 Random House, Inc. Random House Audio, a division of Random House, Inc.

Critic reviews

“Exposes how Democratic politicians have sold out to Big Labor. . . A must-read for anyone concerned about higher taxes, bigger government, and a far-left social agenda.” —Sean Hannity

“There probably isn’t a better book available on how unions corrupt politics.” —John J. Miller, National Review

“Meticulously documents how the NEA and many other labor unions . . . have constructed political organizations tied directly to the Democratic Party. . . . Proponents of campaign finance reform like to claim that the recent McCain-Feingold law got the ‘big money’ out of politics. Well, some of the big money never left, as Ms. Chavez and Mr. Gray show so vividly.” —Wall Street Journal

Fascinating -- but get the abridged version

This book is a fascinating look at corruption in labor unions, and the way that labor's leadership is able to use mandatory union dues to maintain power and exert political influence. Some of the examples given are downright terrifying (e.g. the terrorist acts done in the name of labor solidarity during the New York Daily News strike). The fact that labor is willing to do these things is bad enough... but then the media and politicians "look the other way" in an effort to "not take sides". Scary stuff.

The only complaint is that I wish the book were less partisan in its approach. Of course, any book criticising labor will be critical of the Democrats who support labor. But at times it goes overboard with its Democrat-bashing. The material works just fine on its own, and it would be a more powerful statement if it were less partisan.

One other note: the unabridged version is extremely repetitive at times. Some points are repeated over and over again throughout the book. It's almost as if the book is a loose collection of essays with overlapping themes. It could definitely use a comprehensive edit. I'd get the abridged version over this one.