Republicans in the House are putting forward a bill that could protect employees nationwide from forced unionization. The National Right to Work committee is encouraging Speaker Paul Ryan to put H.R. 785 up for a floor vote after its introduction by Reps. Steve King of Iowa and Joe “You Lie” Wilson of South Carolina. According to the National Right to Work Committee the bill would “finally repeal all the current federal labor-law provisions that authorize compulsory union membership dues and fee payments as a condition of employment.” Stan Greer provides more detail:
Under Section 14(b) of the 1947 Taft-Hartley Amendments to the original National Labor Relations Act of 1935, states have the prerogative to protect private-sector employees from federally imposed forced unionism. Five days before H.R.785 was introduced, Missouri became the 28th state to pass a Right to Work law barring forced union financial support as a condition of employment.
Since early 2012, six states have adopted bans on compulsory union dues. Right to Work supporters are appropriately jubilant over their recent series of victories. But no one should forget that it’s Congress, not any state legislature, that spawned the evil of private-sector forced union dues in the first place.
Even in the 28 states that have now enacted Right to Work laws, because of federally imposed loopholes union bosses still wield the power to get railroad and airline employees and employees on so-called “exclusive federal enclaves” fired for refusal to pay dues or fees.
Fortunately, H.R.785 would close these loopholes, which were drilled into all existing and future state Right to Work laws by Congress and the federal courts.
And this legislation would almost certainly spur faster economic growth in every state.
Read more here.
