Important source of productivity

In the past two decades we have seen stunning increases in productivity in the United States.  Clearly a large part of the current unemployment is a result of previous productivity increases and the consequent lack of need for workers.

Many suggestions have been made as to the sources of increased productivity ranging from computers, changes in management structure, better information in the workplace, better corporate structure, flatter management, outsourcing and better transportation ( UPS and FedEx).

I would still like to suggest an obvious source of increased productivity that is rarely mentioned or noticed.   We have dramatically reduced the number of private sector union workers. From 11 million in 1990 to less than 7 million today. Dramatic.

Unions are inherently counter commerce, counter productivity and the reduction of their importance in the private world must be resulting in productivity increases.  

Of course the growth of unions in government probably has little effect on productivity because government has a negative productivity measurement to begin with ( remember, every dollar spent on government means $.80 back into the economy).