UAW numbers take a plunge

The UAW's ranks dropped by about 5% to approximately 622,000 members in 2004, mostly from job cuts at the Big 3 (now there's a surprise). Interestingly enough, the net worth of the union increased by over 4% last year, which would be worth raising an eyebrow over if I were a UAW member. Even more interesting yet is that the union reported 7 months ago that its membership actually increased by 5%, which it attributes to a "less precise" calculation used for the government report. Hmm, that's odd - I'm failing to recall any measurement situations I've experienced where a lack of precision caused a polarity shift of that magnitude. Anyways, I certainly wish no ill upon the union's members, but one can expect that by the time we get through '05 and '06, 2004 will seem like a distant and mostly pleasant memory.