But I think this misses the point. Unions were built on industrial labor. But those industries have been 'out-sourced', long before the term was coined. So the unions did turn to retail, and found it difficult. And then they turned to government, and found it easy, and lucrative. There are government jobs which take certainly rivals anything once found in industry. And the unions can charge comparable dues.
There's another benefit to government organizing for the unions. Industries might be competitive - thus the 'out-sourcing'. Governments are not. They are protected from scrutiny, by and large, by the leftist 'mainstream' media. They are the very stuff of patronage, much more so than the union jobs of industry. Money flows freely, and irresponsibly. People line their pockets, and only rarely fear being caught, or subjected to a public expose - unless they are deemed an 'enemy-of-media', openly 'freeper', or conservative, or the like. So in that way, the government largesse for the lib is self-policing. It's the ideal situation for the unions. And this is obviously also a pillar of the Dem vote.
Reagan was right. Government IS the problem.
don't forget the other arm of government holding back job growth and driving companies out of business: TRIAL LAWYERS