Tyranny Triumphs in the Great Lakes State
Ignoring ample evidence of forced unionism’s unfairness and its damaging impact on jobs and incomes, Big Labor Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed Right to Work destruction in 2023.
Forced Union Dues Scorched in House Hearing
![As Right to Work President Mark Mix explained to HELP panelists, “We as citizens . . . shouldn’t give [the right to use force] to any private organization. And labor unions are private organizations.”](https://i0.wp.com/nrtwc.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/mam-pg1.jpg?resize=920%2C512&ssl=1)
Stage Set For Floor Vote on the National Right to Work Act
Right to Work advocates and Inside-the-D.C. Beltway union-boss apologists faced off at the end of November in a showdown over a measure to revoke Big Labor’s congressionally granted privilege to force workers to pay union dues or fees, or be fired.
National Right to Work Committee President Mark Mix, speaking before the U.S. House Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions (HELP), called for passage of H.R.1200, the National Right to Work Act.
“[T]he bias in federal law in favor of compulsion should be removed,” he explained. “The bias should be in favor of voluntary unionism.”
Like its Senate companion, S.532, H.R.1200 is a one-page bill that would terminate Big Labor’s legal power to compel workers to bankroll a union as a condition of employment.
As this Newsletter edition went to press in early January, this Right to Work legislation was sponsored or cosponsored by a total of 150 U.S. representatives and senators.
Poll after poll demonstrates that at least 70% to 80% of Americans consistently express support for the Right to Work principle that union membership and financial support should be the choice of every individual employee.
Only Congress Can Restore Private-Sector Workplace Freedom Across the Board
Along with Mr. Mix, two workers who have been personally harmed by union bosses wielding their monopolistic special privileges, retired registered nurse Jeanette Geary and public defender Brunilda Vargas, testified in support of H.R.1200.
The hearing by the HELP panel, which constitutes a part of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, has set the stage for a battle on the floor of the House of Representatives.
As 2024 begins, National Right to Work members across America are urging House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), an H.R.1200 cosponsor, to build on the success of the recent HELP hearing by allowing a recorded floor roll-call vote on this legislation in the near future.
As long as federal law guards union officials’ forced-dues power, American workers across the country will be subject to compulsory unionism.
Even in the majority of states that have enacted Right to Work laws, tens of thousands of workers (on airlines, railroads, and in so-called “federal enclaves”) are compelled to pay union dues because of federal preemptions of state law.
In a letter sent to every House member in January, Mr. Mix explained why only Congress can restore private-sector workplace freedom across the board:
“The burden of compulsory unionism was imposed on the states and upon the people by Congress. “Though the citizens of individual states may ease this burden, it can be lifted entirely only by Congress.”
This article was originally published in our monthly newsletter. Go here to access previous newsletter posts.
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