Archive | Unions

Right-to-work laws prevent unions from imposing mandatory fees, giving employees the right to work without paying union dues. Otherwise, right-to-work has no effect on collective bargaining. All other negotiations continue as before. What’s wrong with that?

Collective bargaining laws give unions an effective monopoly on many state and local government workforces.[1] They force the government to negotiate employment terms with the union, and all employees must accept that union’s representation. Unions use this power to pressure state and local governments into accepting expensive contracts, which now threaten many cities with bankruptcy. [...]

Recent budget crises in Wisconsin, Indiana, and other states have unleashed a renewed debate over the power of unions and “right to work” laws. Unfortunately, both sides of the debate are guilty of numerous equivocations, misrepresentations, and errors. And, at the end of the day, both advocate the use of government coercion to intervene in [...]

A number of conservatives, such as  Senator Rand Paul, have been promoting “right-to-work” legislation in response to the growing power of labor unions. On the surface, such legislation might appear to be consistent with free market principles. But is it? Wikipedia says that Right-to-work laws are statutes enforced in twenty-two U.S. states, mostly in the [...]