Unions should be serving their members

The news that unions lost 400,000 members in 2012 as reported in the Jan. 23 article, Unions suffer sharp decline in membership, shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone except union officials. Labor leaders created unfunded pension plans that are short by $369 billion, get caught with their hands in the union cookie jar weekly, spent billions on political campaigns and pushed for a strike at Hostess last year that killed 11,700 union jobs. Meanwhile, many of these same leaders make salaries that reach as high as $490,000.

If union officials want to stop shedding members, they should reflect on whether they’re truly serving their needs.

Richard Berman, Executive Director, Center for Union Facts, Washington, DC

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‘First 48’ exploits victims of crime

Thank you for your recent coverage of the city of Miami Police Chief Manuel Orosa’s decision not to renew a contract with the reality show The First 48. For years the show’s film crew has roamed the streets of Miami’s urban communities searching for victims of homicide to feature on their show. 1369259411
Spiritual or religious?

Martin Slater’s May 17 letter, Changing beliefs, responding to Myriam Marquez’s May 12 column makes the common mistake of equating religion and spirituality. While religions encourage the development of our spiritual sense, religious dogmas are unnecessary to cultivate one’s own sense of spirituality. Many nonreligious individuals are highly spiritual, keenly in tune with their inner-self and the concept of a creative universal force. 1369259411
DCF is disgraceful

Re the May 21 article DCF deemed boy safe before he was left in vehicle: It’s unbelievable that the Department of Children & Families would do absolutely nothing about a woman who reportedly was drunk and driving, hitting walls and passing out while her young son was in the car untethered. 1369259411

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