Right to Work laws

In September, 2001, Oklahoma became the nation's 23rd Right- to-Work jurisdiction in America. The territory of Guam achieved Right to Work status in 2001.  But before the ink dried on the new Right to Work law in Oklahoma, unions vowed a legal challenge in court.  In Guam, unions are trying to get the law repealed -- even though the Right to Work laws has not hindered efforts to organize employees to engage in collective bargaining.

Right to Work laws prevent unions from getting employees fired for refusing to pay money to a union and Right to Work laws lead to the creation of new jobs and greater economic prosperity for working families.

1. WHAT IS THE "RIGHT TO WORK"? The Right to Work is a principle that affirms the right of every free American to work for a living without being compelled to belong to a union. Compulsory unionism in any form is a violation of a fundamental human right that every person must have the right, but must not be compelled, to join a union.

2. WHAT IS A RIGHT TO WORK LAW? A "Right to Work" law guarantees that no person can be forced -- as a condition of employment -- to join or not to join or to pay dues to a labor union. Federal law (Section 14(b) of the Taft-Hartley Act) affirms the right of states and territories to enact Right to Work laws. Currently 21 states, the Territory of Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands have passed "Right to Work" laws.

3. WHAT IS 14(b) OF THE TAFT-HARTLEY ACT? Section 14(b) of the Taft-Hartley Act guarantees states and territories the right to enact Right to Work laws that prohibit compulsory union membership as a condition of employment. The National Labor Relations Act authorizes forced unionism, but Section 14(b) of Taft Hartley allows states and territories to protect their citizens from this abusive federal policy.

4. IS RIGHT TO WORK "ANTI-UNION"? A Right to Work law is neither "anti-union" nor "pro-union." It is a matter of personal freedom. Right to Work laws affirm the right of everyone who works in a state or territory with a "Right to Work" law to voluntarily work where they want and for whom they want without any coercion to join or not to join a unions.

5. WHAT IS "EXCLUSIVE REPRESENTATION"? "Exclusive representation" gives unions the power to represent all employees in a company’s "bargaining unit" -- including employees who oppose the union and do not want its "services." This monopoly bargaining power is a special privilege granted to union by federal law.

6. WHAT DOES THE UNION MEAN BY THE TERM "FREE RIDER"? "Free Rider" is the name given by supporters of forced unionism to any employee who does not pay the union for "services" they do not want but which they are forced to accept because of "exclusive representation." These employees are actually "captive passengers," and victims of union officials "fee raider" schemes.

7. WHAT EFFECT DOES A RIGHT TO WORK LAW HAVE ON STANDARDS OF LIVING? Statistics show that Right to Work jurisdiction enjoy greater economic vitality than states or territories where union membership is compulsory. Per capita income grows at a faster rate in Right to Work areas. Right to Work states and territories also have faster job creation, capital expenditures, and lower unemployment rates and fewer work stoppages.

Since compulsory dues are their life blood, unions fight ferociously to stop the passage of  Right to Work laws. In Oklahoma, for example, unions spent $8 million on a  media campaign to mislead the public about the merits of voluntary unionism. One union went as far as questioning the constitutionality of Right to Work laws, even though the U.S. Supreme Court ruled more than 50 years ago that the laws are absolutely constitutional.

Why does the right-to-work issue generate so much controversy?  In part, because Americans still think of unions as they were in the 1930s -- a necessary weapon employees needed to protect themselves from abusive employers.

Over the last 20 years, smart employers and corrupt union leaders have made unions irrelevant.  

Still today, unions enjoy many extraordinary powers and immunities created by legislatures and the courts. Unions claim to rely on the support of "rank-and-file" employees, yet they clamor to secure and expand their government-granted powers, including the powers to shake down employees for financial support and even to wage campaigns of violent retaliation against non-union employees.

Here is a list of special privileges that reveals the extent to which unions have rigged our nation's labor laws in their favor:

1. Exemption from prosecution for union violence. The most egregious example of organized labor's special privileges and immunities is the 1973 United States v. Enmons decision. In it, the United States Supreme Court held that union violence is exempted from the Hobbs Act, which makes it a federal crime to obstruct interstate commerce by robbery or extortion. As a result, thousands of incidents of violent assaults (directed mostly against workers) by union militants have gone unpunished. Meanwhile, many states also restrict the authority of law enforcement to enforce laws during strikes.

2. Exemption from anti-monopoly laws. The Clayton Act of 1914 exempts unions from anti-monopoly laws, enabling union officials to forcibly drive out independent or alternative employee bargaining groups.

3. Power to force employees to accept unwanted union representation. Monopoly bargaining, or "exclusive representation," which is embedded in most of the country's labor relations statutes, enables union officials to act as the exclusive bargaining agents of all employees at a unionized workplace, thereby depriving employees of the right to make their own employment contracts. For example, the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) of 1935, the Federal Labor Relations Act (FLRA) of 1978, and the Railway Labor Act (RLA) of 1926 prohibit employees from negotiating their own contracts with their employers or choosing their own workplace representatives.

4. Power to collect forced union dues. Unlike other private organizations, unions can compel individuals to support them financially. In 28 states under the NLRA (those that do not have Right-to-Work laws), on "exclusive federal enclaves," (something the folks at Raytheon will have to cope with -- Guam's right-to-work law doesn't apply there) like them and in many states under public sector labor relations acts, employees may be forced to pay union dues as a condition of employment, even if they reject union affiliation.

5. Unlimited, undisclosed electioneering. The Federal Election Campaign Act exempts unions from its limits on campaign contributions and expenditures, as well as some of its reporting requirements. Union bigwigs can spend unlimited amounts on communications to members and their families in support of, or opposition to, candidates for federal office, and they need not report these expenditures if they successfully claim that union publications are primarily devoted to other subjects. For years, the politically active National Education Association (NEA) teacher's union has gotten away with claiming zero political expenditures on its IRS tax forms!

6. Ability to strong-arm employers into negotiations. Unlike all other parties in the economic marketplace, union officials can compel employers to bargain with them. The National Labor Relations Act, the Federal Labor Relations Act and the Railway Labor Act make it unlawful for employers to resist a union's collective bargaining efforts and difficult for them to counter aggressive and deceptive campaigns waged by union organizers.

7. Right to trespass on an employer's private property. The Norris-LaGuardia Act of 1932 (and state anti-injunction acts) give union activists immunity from injunctions against trespass on an employer's property.

8. Ability of strikers to keep jobs despite refusing to work. Unlike other employees, unionized employees in the private sector have the right to strike -- to refuse to work while keeping their job. In some cases, it is illegal for employers to hire replacement workers, even to avert bankruptcy.  Meanwhile, union officials demonize replacement workers as "scabs" to set them up for retaliation.

9. Union-only cartels on construction projects. Under so-called Project Labor Agreements, governments (local, state, or federal) award contracts for construction on major projects such as highways, airports, and stadiums exclusively to unionized firms. These practices effectively lock-out qualified contractors and employees who refuse to submit to exclusive union bargaining, forced union dues, and wasteful union work rules. So far, only three states have outlawed these discriminatory and costly union-only pacts.

10. Government financing of forced unionism. On top of all of the special powers and immunities granted to unions, politicians even pour taxpayer money straight into union coffers. Union groups receive upwards of $160 million annually in direct federal grants. But that's just the tip of the iceberg. In 2001, the federal Department of Labor doled out $148 million for "international labor programs" overwhelmingly controlled by an AFL-CIO front group. Federal bureaucrats spend approximately $2.6 billion per year on "job training programs" that, under the Workforce Investment Act, must be administered by boards filled with union officials.

That kind of power and privilege has made many unions vulnerable to infiltration and corruption by organized crime.

While you are visiting this website, take a few minutes to check this link: http://www.nplc.org  

The National Right to Work Committee continues to build support within the U.S. Congress and many legislatures for additional Right to Work laws.  The Committee stands ready to defend Right To Work laws while continuing to advance the rights of union-abused employees through the nation's courts.

Additional information on the rights of employees is available at www.nrtw.org/a/a_prime.htm.