- Jun 6, 2007
- 852
- 483
- 910
The one thing that really gets me about Michigan Governor Rick Snyder's grandstanding about the need for a "right to work" law is that he is so one sided in his analysis of the issue and many of the bills supporters act the same way. Governor Snyder is all over the place in front of TV cameras saying things like workers have rights they should be free to not join a Union if they so choose and workers should not be forced to join a Union. However, the public doesn't hear word one from the Governor and supporters of this bill about if this bill becomes law for these Michigan workers who chose not to join the union at their employer they will still receive the "benefits" of the union contract but "won't be paying" to maintain the union and that isn't fair, it isn't right; America doesn't stand for free loading and taking advantage of coworkers! Let's look at what will be going on if this bill is enacted into law, do you think that your going to see unionized employers pay the workers that avail themselves of this law and not join the union eighty or seventy percent of unionized wages, you think these employers will be giving these non-union workers eighty or seventy percent of vacation and sick leave days that unionized workers get, you're damn right their not going to otherwise these workers would just join the union and get the better union wages and benefits. The point here is in "right to work" states where workers of unionized employers avail themselves of the law not to join the union they are still benefiting from the union's hard work in securing wages and benefits but these workers are not paying for the cost to operate the union and negotiate the contracts their free loading their taking advantage of the union workers who make the financial sacrifice to pay union dues to maintain the union and this is unfair, unjust and outrageous!
If the Governor and all these freedom advocates want to enshrine in the law the right not to join a union if a worker so choses so be it but don't alleviate from that worker the obligation to pay a fair share or pro rata share of the cost to maintain the union because that is plain wrong! If a person wants to claim their pro-collective bargaining rights they have to be pro giving those workers who chose to join the collective bargaining group the ability to raise revenue to operate such a group otherwise their claim isn't true, its a charade! Let's look at this "right to work" legislation from a practical standpoint, what this law does is give workers the right to opt out of paying union dues by not joining a union however due to the alternatives facing the employer these "opt out" workers still enjoy the wages and benefits gained by the union, as a practical matter if such a law is put into effect one will see a significant numbers of workers drop out of the union because they will save money on not having to pay union dues with little down side in lesser wages and benefits (human nature calls for this conclusion) so as a practical matter this weakens unions and increases the likelihood of their failure because it takes away revenue (union dues) they need to function well. So truth and honesty indicates clearly that if someone is a supporter of this Michigan "right-to-work" law their not pro-collective bargaining rights!
The other thing that is outrageous and completely anti-union is the provisions in this Michigan "right to work" legislation providing that employers do not have to deduct union dues from workers pay who are in the union. This is outrageous because unions need these union dues to pay their staff and maintain their operations and if the employer doesn't take them out the union is left in the position of any other bill collector for that worker they send a bill for the union dues and some bills will be paid and some won't, the union will incur a significant loss of revenue and therefore its effectiveness will be impaired. For elected officials that propose or support these provisions it is very hypocritical and double standard like to make such provisions law. The law recognizes and supports other instances where an employer can remove monies from employees checks even if they haven't consented to such removal, employers remove monies from employees pay in response to court orders for child support and some employers remove monies from employees pay to pay for employer uniforms and the like. It really is completely unreasonable and unfair employers can escape such obligation to remove union dues because union activities have to deal with the employer-employee relationship they have to deal with the work and activities of the employer's business the law should view such removal of union dues as a necessary duty to fulfill their duties to their workers and the community!
If the Governor and all these freedom advocates want to enshrine in the law the right not to join a union if a worker so choses so be it but don't alleviate from that worker the obligation to pay a fair share or pro rata share of the cost to maintain the union because that is plain wrong! If a person wants to claim their pro-collective bargaining rights they have to be pro giving those workers who chose to join the collective bargaining group the ability to raise revenue to operate such a group otherwise their claim isn't true, its a charade! Let's look at this "right to work" legislation from a practical standpoint, what this law does is give workers the right to opt out of paying union dues by not joining a union however due to the alternatives facing the employer these "opt out" workers still enjoy the wages and benefits gained by the union, as a practical matter if such a law is put into effect one will see a significant numbers of workers drop out of the union because they will save money on not having to pay union dues with little down side in lesser wages and benefits (human nature calls for this conclusion) so as a practical matter this weakens unions and increases the likelihood of their failure because it takes away revenue (union dues) they need to function well. So truth and honesty indicates clearly that if someone is a supporter of this Michigan "right-to-work" law their not pro-collective bargaining rights!
The other thing that is outrageous and completely anti-union is the provisions in this Michigan "right to work" legislation providing that employers do not have to deduct union dues from workers pay who are in the union. This is outrageous because unions need these union dues to pay their staff and maintain their operations and if the employer doesn't take them out the union is left in the position of any other bill collector for that worker they send a bill for the union dues and some bills will be paid and some won't, the union will incur a significant loss of revenue and therefore its effectiveness will be impaired. For elected officials that propose or support these provisions it is very hypocritical and double standard like to make such provisions law. The law recognizes and supports other instances where an employer can remove monies from employees checks even if they haven't consented to such removal, employers remove monies from employees pay in response to court orders for child support and some employers remove monies from employees pay to pay for employer uniforms and the like. It really is completely unreasonable and unfair employers can escape such obligation to remove union dues because union activities have to deal with the employer-employee relationship they have to deal with the work and activities of the employer's business the law should view such removal of union dues as a necessary duty to fulfill their duties to their workers and the community!