Wednesday, May 6

Union reform



I welcome doing what we can to solve these problems, however:

a) Letting union organizers bully employee support via card check is not the correct solution to the supervisor bullying problem described in the video; it's fighting fire with fire.

b) Right-to-work laws are necessary to protect the employment of those who do not wish to participate in unions.
posted 2:35 PM
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2 comments:

  1. LevWednesday, May 6, 2009 at 4:30:00 PM CDT

    Hey Gherald, I wonder if you read this: http://www.prospect.org/csnc/blogs/ezraklein_archive?month=05&year=2009&base_name=those_scary_union_organizers

    Evidently card check didn't produce any intimidation in Illinois, though it's among public sector unions. Don't know if that affects things at all. I'm ambivalent about card check, though I haven't really read about too many instances of intimidation (and the getting rid of the secret ballot stuff is nonsense, of course, as EFCA just adds another option).

    As for right to work, I've worked union jobs here in California (not at all a right to work state) and I've always had the option to join or not. Now I'm management and I can't join any, but I thought that closed shops had been prohibited since 1947, when Congress overrode Truman's veto of Taft-Hartley.

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  2. Gherald LWednesday, May 6, 2009 at 4:51:00 PM CDT

    In the 28 states without right to work laws, paying union dues can be a condition of employment. Unions can force employers to include paying union dues in new employee hiring contracts. I don't find this acceptable.

    About that Illinois study, just because something hasn't been abused yet doesn't mean the potential isn't there.

    I would agree card check is probably not as harmful as the those on the right make it out to be, but it's also not as innocent as the left pretends. Ezra has acknowledged that card check may not be the best reform.

    Personally, I prefer "quickie elections" or something similar, which are secret ballot elections that are held soon after unions start to organize, without long waits filled with anti-union propaganda. If this were combined with right-to-work, it would be swell.

    Unfortunately union bosses are vehemently against right-to-work, because it takes away their ability to raise funds by force from workers who don't want to support the union.

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