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In the epilogue to her recent book An Unlikely Conservative, Linda Chavez describes a corner of American politics in deep need of a cleansing reform. Is anyone in the new Republican Congress looking for a project?

Something needs to be done to rein in the enormous--and growing--political power of the labor unions. Unions represent only about 12 percent of the American work force, but they virtually control the Democratic Party and play an enormous role in American politics.

Funded by mandatory dues from workers, who in many instances must join a union under the terms of their employment, unions are the single largest source of political contributions in the nation--much of it hidden. In the 2000 elections, unions raised and spent $75 million in direct contributions, but they are estimated to have spent as much as $800 million if one factors in the amount devoted to publications endorsing candidates or legislation, staff time "volunteered" to campaigns, get-out-the-vote drives, and other expenditures largely hidden from public scrutiny and reporting. Some of these activities are illegal.

When I was publications editor at the American Federation of Teachers union, it was routine for the AFT to publish campaign literature on behalf of candidates. Although it was legal to distribute such material to union members, we often printed hundreds of thousands of extra copies to give to candidates to distribute to the general public, which was not allowed under the law. I once personally delivered several boxes of union-printed campaign leaflets to Ted Kennedy's presidential campaign headquarters in 1980. And I witnessed phone banks set up in union headquarters, staffed by paid employees acting as "volunteers," making calls to the general public on behalf of candidates--which constituted a substantial contribution outside the legal limits of campaign ...