The state of Michigan lost 42,000 union members from 2011 to 2012, the ninth largest drop in the country, according to a Jan. 23 report by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Illinois had the largest drop in the country with a loss of 75,000 union members.

Overall, the union membership rate in the U.S. dropped from 11.8 percent in 2011 to 11.3 percent in 2012. Since 1983 — the first year comparative data is available — union membership in the country had dropped from 17.7 million to 14.4 million, a 19 percent drop. 

Michigan's union membership went from 671,000 in 2011 to 629,000 in 2012, a 6-percent drop. Michigan became a right-to-work state in the waning days of 2012 meaning unions can’t require an employee be fired for declining to pay union dues or agency fees.

"The fact that Michigan lost over 40,000 members last year shows that the old union model of doing business wasn’t working," said F. Vincent Vernuccio, director of labor policy at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy. "Our state needs the economic development and prosperity seen in the other right-to-work states. When our state succeeds so will the unions, in time right-to-work may even stop the atrophy organized labor has experienced in its own membership."

Antony Davies, an associate professor of economics at Duquesne University, said Michigan is part of a national trend that has seen a drop in union membership across the country.

"Oddly, this is a sign of union success," Davies said in an email. "Unions arose in response to monopsonist firms exploiting workers. With unions, workers could deal with these monopsonists on a more equal footing. Over time, free markets and competition have eroded monopsonist (and monopoly) power making unions largely unnecessary. In fact, where unions persist (mostly in the public sector), the power imbalance now tends in the opposite direction.

"Many unions now exert monopoly power, advancing the interests of their members at the expense of unemployed workers, non-union workers, and taxpayers. … The need for what unions do — balance power — is not outdated. But the free market and competition perform that role better than unions. That's why private sector workers have chosen to do away with unions."

However, University of Michigan Economist Don Grimes questioned whether the BLS data was accurate.

"The drop in membership while the auto industry and other manufacturing industries were growing seems unlikely," Grimes said in an email. "My guess is that you are looking at some inaccurate data. It could be that either the 2011 data was too high or the 2012 data is too low."

Former Michigan Supreme Court Justice Diane Hathaway faces a federal criminal charge and could end up in prison for up to 33 months.

Nevertheless, it appears that Hathaway can still expect to get a hefty state pension.

It's been estimated that Hathaway's annual state pension would come to $98,766. In fact, this could be a conservative estimate. It was based on calculation information posted on the Office of Retirement Services website and general information about her 20-year career in the court system.

So would Hathaway's pension eligibility change if she pleads or is found guilty?

"Only if the court ordered it," said Kurt Weiss, spokesman for the Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget. "There is nothing in statute that changes her ability to get her pension. If she were convicted, the court could possibly order some kind of change, but that would be unusual. However, if the court were to do that, obviously we would comply."

Last Friday, federal prosecutors filed a fraud charge against Hathaway. According to the charge, Hathaway made false statements to ING Direct, transferred property to others and failed to disclose available cash, all in an effort to fool the bank into believing she had a financial hardship. Officials said that, as a result of the alleged fraud, Hathaway managed to erase a $600,000 debt to a bank.

Hathaway's resignation from the high court became effective Jan. 21. She is scheduled to appear before U.S. District Judge John Corbett O'Meara in Ann Arbor on Jan. 29. According to court experts, Hathaway is expected to enter a guilty plea.

Michigan House Speaker Pro-Tem. John Walsh, R-Livonia, said Hathaway possibly still collecting what many consider a lavish state pension warrants review by legislators.

"I think this is an issue we should look at, and not just for her (Hathaway)," said Rep. Walsh, who chaired the House Judiciary Committee last term. "We're talking about judges and what they do while they're still on the bench. Right now, with her, these are just allegations. We shouldn't indulge in knee-jerk reactions to this particular circumstance. But there's a bigger issue here and we need to take a very serious look at it.

"This goes beyond this particular situation," Rep. Walsh said. "When any judge is convicted of criminal activity, it potentially reflects on the whole court."

Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Rick Jones, R-Grand Ledge, said the people of his district are outraged by the Hathaway situation, and he said he thinks they're justified.

“I'm very glad that Hathaway decided on a path to resigning," Rep. Jones said. "It saves us the time and trouble of impeaching her. A lot of the people I talk with are very angry about this. I was shocked about it. I think this is something that should be looked into.

"She was one of our Supreme Court justices," he said. "If the charges prove to be true, she broke the law, and it wouldn't have been just breaking the law, like a traffic charge, it would have been criminal activity. Judges shouldn't do anything that could cast doubts on their decisions. If she's guilty, what she did tarnished the integrity of the court."

Rep. Jones said he thought it was "very possible" there could be legislative hearings on the situation.

The Michigan Republican Party has called on Hathaway to give up her pension.

Hathaway filed her retirement papers with Office of Retirement Services on Dec. 20. However, she didn't announce her resignation until earlier this month, after the Judicial Tenure Commission publicly released the findings of an investigation of the allegations against her.

Assuming Hathaway enters a guilty a plea, sentencing would probably take place in three to four months. Court experts say she could be sentenced from 27 to 33 months in federal prison. Ultimately the sentence would be up to the judge’s discretion and could be as mild as home confinement. However, if that was the sentence, the judge would have to explain why he decided not to send her to prison.

Prior to the current scandal, Hathaway was probably best known in connection with ads against then Supreme Court Justice Cliff Taylor in 2008. The ads labeled Taylor as the "sleeping judge," based on a false claim that he had dozed off on the bench during a case.

Hathaway defeated Taylor in what was considered an upset.