Businesses are made up of people, and corporations do not hold wealth. When a business earns money, it must be passed on to one or more of the following three groups of people: stockholders in the form of greater shareholder equity; employees in the form of increased wages and benefits; or customers in the form of greater value per dollar. Likewise, when businesses lose money, the cost is passed on to one or more of those same three groups of people. In a free market society, it's usually a symbiotic relationship with all three benefiting in some way or another from each other. Employees sell their labor, stockholders invest in the company, and customers buy product or services all at a mutually beneficial price the market will bear. And they are all in it for some sort of economic benefit.

But then there's this very telling statement about four union's decision to break away from the AFL-CIO, a union of labor unions.

...many union presidents, labor experts and Democratic Party leaders fear the split will weaken the movement politically and hurt unionized workers who need a united and powerful ally against business interests and global competition.

It is a foolhardy employee that is against the business interests of the company to which he sells his labor. And of course the Democrats who come calling every other November aren't too happy about the union split either.

A divided labor movement worries Democratic leaders who rely on the AFL-CIO's money and manpower on Election Day.

"Anything that sidetracks us from our goals ... is not healthy," said Rep. Rahm Emanuel, D-Ill., chairman of the House campaign committee.

Yeah, but an employee's goal (union or not) is to get the most benefit they can from their labor, not to subsidize the re-election of a double-talking politician who comes around making empty promises every couple of years.