Do you have the right to work?

Imagine applying for a job at a major U.S. corporation – only to discover that a condition of your employment is that you join a union.

No big deal, right?

What if, however, you discover that not only will the union require a slice of your paycheck; it will also take that slice and fund groups and causes you strongly disagree with?  Your union dues, paid supposedly to protect you (the worker) from those nasty, evil employers (the people who give you your job) are being used to support politicians with which you morally disagree.

Can you opt out?

In twenty-three American states (as of April 2008), the answer is no.  Either you submit to the union or you are sent home. Something about that just doesn’t smell right to me.

I once was walking through Washington D.C. and stumbled into a union demonstration.  I was approached and rather coarsely asked if I was "for" or "against" unions.  "Neither," I answered.  "I'm for America."  (I admit, that's a cheesy-cliche type answer, but it worked, and the guy left me alone!)

Honestly, I really do hold to that view.  I have nothing against unions, nor do I have anything particularly for them.  I'm for what works, for what gets the job done, for what keeps America humming along.

I know there is a legitimate place for unions.  When they were founded, they brought accountability to the workplace that was sorely needed, and they improved the conditions and safety of the workforce.  But, as with most human endeavors, there are excesses (particularly when the government gets involved).  Sometimes unionized employees demanding disproportionately high pay make it impossible for owners to turn a profit, forcing plant closures and even bankruptcy.  And then there is this pesky political issue.  Why should Joe Democrat be forced into supporting a Republican candidate, or Sally Republican be forced to contribute to the campaign of a liberal?  (The latter is the more common scenario.)

A national “right-to-work” law would free all Americans to choose the employers and/or unions that suit them.  If union membership is as helpful as organizers claim, I’d imagine that people would be flocking to sign up.  Productivity would increase as well, since unionized employees would have to compete against non-union employees – and this would undoubtedly breed improvements in efficiency and innovation.

Some of the arguments against right-to-work laws are valid concerns – unions note that workers in a partially-unionized shop are often treated equally; thus, the non-union employees are getting the benefits of unionization without paying any dues.    While this point is perhaps the strongest that the unions present, I don't think it overcomes the objections of conscience and liberty.  Then again, maybe the point isn't so strong after all -- don't a whole host of non-union-influenced employers give great benefits and pay great wages too?

While I’m no expert, here’s what I see:

- America was built on individualism, not collectivism (The Soviet Union lost the Cold War for a reason - think about it).  I don’t want to be paid based on what everyone else is doing; I want to be paid based on what I’m doing.  If I excel, pay me more.  If I slack, fire me or cut my pay.  That’s what individual responsibility is all about.

- America has changed over the past century.  We’re competing on a global scale, and most of us aren’t employed by the “big” companies anymore.  Employers will keep offering great benefits and increasing pay in order to attract great employees – thus, unions may not be as necessary as they once were.  The reality is that if any of us today, in 2008, got mistreated by an employer, our resume would be floating on Internet job sites by 6:00 p.m. 

- American workers should be free to unionize – and free not to.  It doesn’t seem right that unions should wield such great political power by forcing workers who don’t agree with them to pay the bills.  A truly great movement will inspire people to participate without forcing anything upon them.

- Is compulsory union membership any different than compulsory church membership? I thought Western civilization already learned this lesson.

There is a group that has been working on this issue for quite some time, and they've made a significant amount of progress.  You can check them out at http://www.nrtwc.org/.

As we seek to lay out a welcome mat for American business in the coming century, I think this would be a healthy step to take.   I’d be interested in your comments.

Comments

[DanJ]

Democrats have a plan to end "secret ballots" under the guise of an "Employee Free Choice Act."

In truth, this would obviously limit "free choice" - exposing those who do not vote for unionization to persecution.

If employees are to have free choice, why may they not vote in secret?

(Answer: Democrats are funded massively by unions. The more shops they unionize, the bigger the Democrat power and money base becomes. And, doing away with secret ballots, combined with typical union intimidation tactics, will almost certainly result in more shops unionizing.)

Remember - whenever a liberal starts talking about freedom - read the fine print.

Read the details:

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,356643,00.html

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