Peter Morici is a professor at the University of Maryland School of Business and a former chief economist at the U.S. International Trade Commission. As you can see by his resume, he knows a thing or two about economics.

Dr. Morici can never be accurately described as a union buster. He’s on record as saying “….denying workers the right to bargain collectively perpetuates distortions in the labor market, and results in inferior allocation of resources.” Favorable references to his writings and congressional testimony can be found on websites maintained by the Teamsters and Steelworkers. He’s even had nice things to say about Andy Stern.

But the good Professor doesn’t like the Employee Free Choice Act. And he doesn’t buy the current union line that evil company management is the reason for the decline in union membership. He puts it this way:

Compounding these problems, unions that profess to help common folks build better lives ardently resist change and exacerbate conditions because their leaders can't get elected if they deliver bad news.

For example, the United Autoworkers leadership wins admiration of members by defending compensation structures and work rules that make hourly labor much more expensive at General Motors than at U.S. based Toyota plants. With thousands losing their jobs year after year thanks to such poor leadership, it is no surprise workers shun unions. Union membership has fallen from about 35 percent of the private sector workforce in the 1950s to 7.4 percent today.

Dr. Morici is interested in income inequality issues, and he offers ideas, not sound bites and bogus statistics. Labor would do well to heed his advice:

If the Democrats want to help workers harmed by globalization, they should take five steps.

· Give trade-displaced workers significant cash payments, and let them use those as they please to rebuild their lives.

· Put children first, stop opposing school vouchers, and subject urban public-school teachers to robust competition.

· Tell their union friends in private industry to get serious about negotiating compensation and work rules that permit employers to compete in global markets, and try earning the trust of nonunion workers instead of seeking a license to engage in strong arm tactics.

· Hold up the president's trade negotiating authority until he takes action against imports made by child labor and abused workers.

· Pass bills to permit businesses harmed by foreign subsidies and undervalued currencies to obtain tariffs that nullify the advantages those practices create.