Airlines and car makers remain two of the larger unionized industries in
the United States.

But this is especially true for American car makers who make the largest
and least fuel efficient vehicles.

So if you destroy the market for Ford and GM vehicles and have them
replaced with more fuel efficient vehicles you will cut thousands of union
jobs.

The airlines would also be hit by increases in oil prices and this would
cause them to go bankrupt and break their union contracts.

So somebody who wanted to reduce the influence of the unions would look to
increase oil prices, by say invading Iraq and disrupting their oil
exports.

No?

There's only one giant fly in this ointment.

The largest unionized sector in the United States is the government, so
somebody who wanted to reduce the number of union members would have cut
government spending instead of vastly increasing it.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/4127563.html

The slowdown represents the deepest production cuts since the
industry's crisis of the 1980s. It also underscores the difficulty
that Detroit, whose business relies on sales of sport utility vehicles
and pickups, is having as gas prices remain at $3 a gallon.

Detroit's market share has dropped to its lowest level in history,
while Asian brands, known for their fuel efficiency, are setting sales
records.

-HJC