Right to Work

Right to Work, which is a law that forbids unions and employers to enter into an agreement requiring employees to join a union and pay union dues in order to get or keep a job,(1) is quickly gaining support across the country. However, it should be noted that even though this is a right to work bill, it does not by any means give a person the right to a job or to maintain said job, it simply means that you have the choice to work in a company that has a union without being a part of said union. The lawmakers and public who support the right to work feel that these laws will help their state grow economically by helping to create more jobs while attracting new business. On the other side of this are the unions who feel that Right to Work is just another attack and another attempt to break the union.

In order to better understand why lawmakers would want to pass right to work laws, we need to look at the long history of unions in the United States. This history can be traced back to the early to mid 1700’s, with the first formal labor group being formed just 7 years after the US constitution was drafted. However, it wasn’t until the 1800’s when unions began to gain strength across the country. What helped pave the way for organized labor groups was the ruling in the benchmark case Commonwealth v Hunt (1842). Chief Justice Lemauel Shaw ruled that “labor combinations were legal provided that they organized for legal purpose and used legal means to achieve their goals”. (2)

In the years following this ruling organized labor saw three significant labor groups form. The first of these groups was the National Labor Union (NLU) which helped bring national attention to the local unions and began the fight for better wages. Soon after the NLU began to deteriorate; the Knights of Labor was formed. Their fight was the same: higher/equal wages for their workers as well as making the work day shorter. However, the major differences were that the Knights of Labor accepted all workers into their union ranks whether they were men, women or minorities as well skilled or unskilled workers. The Knights started to dissolve in 1886 during the Haymarket riots of Chicago where they began to be seen as radicals. It was after their demise that the American Federation of Labor was formed, which committed to the craft unions as well as focusing more on the right to collectively bargaining for wages, working conditions and benefits than national politics

Although these founding labor groups helped to gain interest in unions they still remained weak. It wasn’t until the 1930 that unions really began to gain their power. One of the most profound changes in the U.S government’s oversight of labor relations came with the passing of the Norris LaGuardia act of 1932. By restricting court injunctions against striking activities, this act was seen as a victory in labor relations as it allowed the unions to strike peacefully if they felt any part of their working conditions were less than perfect.

Another law that was passed in favor of unions was the National Labor Rights act, also known as the Wagner Act of 1935. What this act did was allow for collective bargaining within the private sector, and allow for the elections of representatives to determine if employees would be represented by the union. The provisions of this law have three parts. The first were “closed shops”, where in order to be considered for employment one needed to already be a union member. The second part was titled “union shops”. For those looking for employment in a “union shop” they did not have to be a member of a union, however a condition of their employment was that they need to become a union member within a given time period. The last part, “agency shops”, are shops where any employee of a bargaining unit must pay a service fee or dues for representation.

After the NLRA was passed, many began to believe the government had given too much power to the unions as the act had a laundry list of wrong doings by employers and none against the unions. The unions were now able to “coerce” employees into joining and financially supporting their union. During this time after this act was passed, the nation began to see a record number of strikes in key industries. These events began to turn the opinion and support of unions from favorable to very unfavorable.

It is also because of these events that Congress overwhelmingly voted to override President Truman’s veto of the amendment to the NLRA, known as the Taft Hartley Act of 1947. This act was passed in hopes to help remedy the imbalance that the NLRA had for favoring unions. Closed shops were now prohibited and union shops become more restricted in favor of agency shops. The Taft Hartley Act also gave states the authority to enact right to work laws, which prohibits mandatory agency shops and fees as well as giving the employee the right to choose whether they join the union or not without repercussion. Within a year of the Taft Hartley Act, 12 states passed right to work laws and this trend continued to sweep across the Great Plains and the South between the 1940’s and the 1970’s. Between 2012 and 2015 the number of states with Right to Work Laws grew to 25, with the state of Wisconsin being the most recent.

With the recent passing of Right to Work in the state of Wisconsin, the controversy around this labor law has once again been brought to the front burner and people are heavily divided on the issue of right to work. Both sides bring up many issues to the argument that need to be considered before choosing a side. For the supporters of Right to Work, one of the first arguments is that it is the fundamental right to be able to choose whether or not workers join and pay union fees. Supporters believe that forcing an employee to pay union fees violates those rights. This belief is why many supporters of Right to Work will quote Thomas Jefferson: “To compel a man to furnish contributions of money for the propagation of opinions which he disbelieves is sinful and tyrannical.”

Another argument the supporters voice is that there will be more union accountability. Many believe that unions are just like regular businesses, providing services for a fee. If the union provides excellent service, they should be able to keep their loyal members. It will make the unions become more pro-employee and not just about the union as a whole. Supporters also believe that school taxes will be lowered, which in turn could lower their overall property taxes. This is because in states with Right to Work, the teacher’s unions have already begun to decline and because of this less school taxes come out of property taxes.

It is said that Right to Work leads to more competitive wages than those states without Right to Work. In a study done by Dr. Veddar and the Center of American