Left Wants to Destroy State Right to Work Laws

“Since gaining control of the U.S. House, Democrats have clearly demonstrated that they are not fit to govern. While one might have assumed that gaining a bit of power would have caused them to behave more responsibly that has not been the case at all.”  Richard McCarthy

Section 164 of the Taft-Hartley Act, 1947, established the foundation for right-to-work laws by allowing states to prohibit union security agreements, or compulsory union membership. Within a year of the Taft-Hartley Act’s passage, 12 states passed right-to-work laws.  Today the total of Right to Work states stands at 27. 

But these laws are a curse to the Democratic Party because less union members means less union dues which equates to less financial “aid” to the Democratic candidates during election years, which helps to explain why this year’s crop of left-wing, anti-American, Socialist/Communist, Democratic presidential candidates are promising to eliminate state Right to Work Laws with federal legislation.

According to Democrats, Right to Work state laws have caused union membership to decline since the 1980s when the share of organized labor was roughly double what it is today.  Yet, even with the decline in membership during the 2015 election, according  to the Huffington Post, unions managed to donate more than $132 million to left-wing Super PACs and still spent an additional $35 million out of pocket to defeat Trump.

In an effort to eliminate state right to work laws, Democratic Congressman Robert Scott of Virginia introduced HR 2474 while Democratic Senator Patty Murray of Washington launched S 1306 in the Senate. 

Both bills would amend the National Labor Relations Act, the Labor Management Relations Act, 1947, and the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 to essentially overturn the Right to Work Laws to facilitate labor union organizing without regard to the negative consequences on workers, consumers, employers, and the economy.  They would preempt not only state labor laws but overrule three Supreme Court decisions. 

In addition to requiring that private employee information be shared with union organizers, the bills would require workers to pay union dues as a condition of employment.  They would expand the definition of employee to include independent contractors in order to increase the pool of employees eligible for unionization and impose government mandated arbitration to dictate employment terms in negotiations.

In addition the bills would force companies such as McDonalds to be responsible for the actions of their franchisees and  franchisee employees; promote card-check organizing, a process that forces union representation on workers without a secret ballot election;  and minimize the amount of time that employers have to make their case against unionization, giving unions an unfair advantage.

The Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2019, aka PRO Act, now has 208 sponsors in the House and 40 in the Senate.  House cosponsors include House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, presidential candidates Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii and Tim Ryan of Ohio, former presidential candidates Eric Swalwell of California and Seth Moulton of Massachusetts, and about half of the supposedly centrist Blue Dog Democrats.  In the Senate, Murray’s bill has 40 cosponsors that includes presidential candidate Bernie Sanders.

Research indicates that Right to Work laws positively impact economic growth and employment. A 2018 study prepared by National Economic Research Associates, commissioned by the United States Chamber of Commerce, found that right to work states’ economic performance surpasses that of non-right to work states in several areas.  Between 2001 and 2016 private sector employment grew by 27% compared to only 15% in non-right to work states.  Also, personal income rose by 39% compared to 26% and growth in private sector GDP grew by 38% compared to 29%. 

This is but another communist attempt to destroy America’s freedoms.  And while I doubt either bill has a chance in Hades of passing, in today’s twilight zone anything could happen.

Source:  The Case against the Protecting the Right to Organize Act, the Competitive Enterprise Institute; Union membership in the U.S. hit record low in 2018, CBS News

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