National Right to Work Could Help States That Can't Help Themselves

Senator Dr. Rand Paul (KY) testifies on Retailers & Entertainers Lacey Implementation & Enforcement Fairness Act & Freedom from Over-Criminalization & Unjust Seizures Act, at the Longworth House Office Building in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday, May 8, 2012. USDA photo by Lance Cheung.

Many states are hostage to the powerful public sector unions they employ. These unions are the largest, most organized group of voters in many forced-union states. They wield their massive power to lobby for higher wages. Paying those wages demands higher taxation, which can cripple private industry in the states. State governments that have been captured by union interests are powerless to fight back.

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Some states have seen the damage unionized public sector employees can cause, and have set into place Right to Work laws, protecting employees from forced unionism. The laws don’t end unions, but instead allow employees to opt out of the organizations if they don’t wish to become members.

It turns out, many employees don’t want to be union members. From the time Right to Work (known as Act 10) was passed in Wisconsin in 2011, to 2017, union membership in the state had dropped by 40%.

Now, Senator Rand Paul has introduced a National Right to Work bill in the Senate to end forced unionization across the country. If passed, the plan could help lower the burden of taxation on many Americans, and allow businesses that are considering leaving their home state for Right to Work states to remain in place. The National Right to Work Committee reports:

Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) has introduced the National Right to Work Act (S. 525) in the U.S. Senate.

The one-page bill would end Big Labor’s federally authorized power to force workers to pay union dues or fees as a condition of employment. Mark Mix, president of the National Right to Work Committee (NRTWC), issued the following statement praising the introduction of the bill:

“We’re extremely pleased that Senator Paul has once again introduced the National Right to Work Act, intensifying a growing debate about Big Labor’s coercive power to keep American workers in chains. This legislation would enshrine the common-sense principle – already enforced in more than half of U.S. states – that no worker should be compelled to join or pay dues to a union just to get or keep a job.

“In an age of legislative overreach, this is one of the shortest bills ever introduced. The National Right to Work Act does not add a single word to federal law, instead simply removing existing language in the National Labor Relations Act and Railway Labor Act that gives union officials the power to extract dues from nonunion workers as a condition of employment.”

The bill introduced by Senator Rand is part of a two-pronged strategy which consists of building support in Washington for the National Right to Work Act, while at the same time mobilizing opponents of forced unionism to pass their own state Right to Work laws.

At the federal level, although 27 states have enacted their own Right to Work laws, and the 1947 Taft-Hartley Act explicitly allows them to do so, the authorization for forcing workers to pay union dues actually comes from two federal laws – the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) and the Railway Labor Act (RLA). The RLA even blocks Right to Work laws from protecting workers in the railroad and airline industry, meaning thousands of workers can be fired for refusing to pay union dues or fees despite working in a Right to Work state.

The National Right to Work Act amends both laws, removing the forced-dues provisions and thereby restoring employees’ absolute right to refrain from participating in and funding a union they don’t want.

E.J. Smith - Your Survival Guy

E.J. Smith is Founder of YourSurvivalGuy.com, Managing Director at Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd., a Managing Editor of Richardcyoung.com, and Editor-in-Chief of Youngresearch.com. His focus at all times is on preparing clients and readers for “Times Like These.” E.J. graduated from Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts, with a B.S. in finance and investments. In 1995, E.J. began his investment career at Fidelity Investments in Boston before joining Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd. in 1998. E.J. has trained at Sig Sauer Academy in Epping, NH. His first drum set was a 5-piece Slingerland with Zildjians. He grew-up worshiping Neil Peart (RIP) of the band Rush, and loves the song Tom Sawyer—the name of his family’s boat, a Grady-White Canyon 306. He grew up in Mattapoisett, MA, an idyllic small town on the water near Cape Cod. He spends time in Newport, RI and Bartlett, NH—both as far away from Wall Street as one could mentally get. The Newport office is on a quiet, tree lined street not far from the harbor and the log cabin in Bartlett, NH, the “Live Free or Die” state, sits on the edge of the White Mountain National Forest. He enjoys spending time in Key West and Paris. Please get in touch with E.J. at ejsmith@yoursurvivalguy.com To sign up for my free monthly Survive & Thrive letter, click here.