Another false assumption.
Nationwide, only 15% of the manufacturing workforce is represented by organized labor.
In comparison, over 40% of government workers are unionized.
(Union affiliation of employed wage and salary workers by occupation and industry)
If anything, it is the federal regulatory bureacracy that places competitive utilization of our own domestic resources at an economic disadvantage when compared to nations with lax restrictions.
BINGO! An article appeared in our local press this week showing more outbound containers than I have ever seen in one place at a port in China (and I've lived in several major port cities). They profiled the work life of a young Chinese worker -- 10 hours a day, 6 days a week, 27 cents and hour. And no governmental restrictuions.
They also profiled a major manufacturing plant near here (Motorola) less than 9 years old, state of the art, totally shut down -- all work has gone to China, leaving more than 1000 local technical workers unemployed. The executives of Motorola can produce the goods cheaper and ship it in. But pretty soon there will be no one here able to buy the goods here.
In the mean time, the technology has been stolen, but for a brief time we'll have access to cheap cell phones with all the newest bells and whistles. They even make them so cheap now that people throw them away -- that's how we have trouble tracking terrorists.