As the Labor Union wing of the Democrat Party continues to lose influence and power, West Virginia has become the latest state to consider Right to Work legislation. A West Virginia newspaper, the Charleston Gazette-Mail, carried a story on the battle yesterday, and they quoted a couple think tanks. Of course, the ridiculous title of the article was “Wages, Safety lower in Right to Work states, lawmakers told” – which is at once a terrible title and also tremendously biased.

In any event, here’s how they characterized the first of the two think tanks they quoted:

James Shirk, a research fellow for the conservative Heritage Foundation, agreed that overall…

Look, the Heritage Foundation is so well known as a conservative think tank that I don’t think labeling at such was even necessary, and I’m not here to argue the point.

Here’s how they characterized the second:

Ted Boettner, executive director for the West Virginia Center for Budget and Policy, questioned why the State would want a policy that lowers wages when West Virginia already has one of the lowest wage rates in the U.S.

Hey, wow, that’s certainly a respectable name for a group. Sounds non-partisan and science-y, doesn’t it? Sounds like it might actually be an official government agency, right? Well, it might shock you to learn that the West Virginia Center for Budget and Policy is actually a hard left think tank that is funded almost exclusively by labor unions.

I’m sure, though, that the Charleston Gazette-Mail’s omission of this information, though, was just an honest mistake and not at all indicative of bias on the newspaper’s part. Why, if you read the article itself, you will see that the reporter in question is completely fair to Right-to-Work and not at all in the tank for Big Labor.

The old line institutions of the left are losing their power and sway, and none more visibly so than labor unions and the media. It’s not surprising to see them working hand in glove to prevent the slide.

(HT @WVPundette)