2012 elections test labor's strength

Pundits across the country can agree on one issue. The 2012 national and local elections are a clear test as to union labor strength, both nationally and locally. Many contend that this election is the most important to labor organizations as it was in 1932 when FDR won his first term over Herbert Hoover. Over the course of his 12 years, FDR initiated many pro-labor programs and policies. Both the Republican and Democratic parties will be spending hundreds of millions until Election Day - November 6th - to get their labor messages out to the voters. A recent Labor Day report stated that unions currently represent 11.8 percent of the American workforce. This is down from the high of 28.3 percent in 1954.