Right To Work Laws: Forced To Join A Union

Right to Work laws ensured that every worker has the right to work without being forced to join a union. Compulsory membership in a union thus violates this principle. Thus this law basically guarantees that no worker can be forced to join a union as a condition of employment. I support the ideals and principles of the Right to Work laws and accordingly feel that all states should enact such laws to protect its respective working citizenry.
The Right to Work law was affirmed by the Taft-Hartley Act also known as the Labor-Management Relations Act in June of 1947, a Federal labor law enacted by Congress. It was passed to amend the National Labor Relations Act of 1935 and also discontinued provisions of the Federal Anti-Injunction Act
of 1932. Furthermore, the Taft-Hartley Act monitored the activities of labor unions and curtailed its power. This federal law in fact faced much resistance from labor leaders and also was confronted with a veto from President Truman; however, the law eventually passed in both Houses. It contained a number of provisions the most significant of which are the following:
It gave the President the power to appoint a Board to investigate any union disputes when he thought a strike would threaten national health or safety; the initiation of this inquiry would allow him to secure an 80 injunction.
The creation of unions was only permitted if a majority of employees voted for same.
It prohibited employers from collecting union dues.
It prohibited unions from political contributions.
It prohibits closed shops, which are companies where union membership is a condition of employment.
In essence the above provisions sought to protect the social and economic rights of workers from union corruption and/or unfair practices.
Although the Taft-Hartley Act promoted employer rights it did balance the collective bargaining power within labor. Furthermore, clearly it created staunch protest from the union leaders because it prohibited a number of practices that the unions were actively promoting such as closed shops. One of the most beneficial impacts for workers of the Right to Work legislation is that the unions were forbidden to enforce any action resulting in the employers ' discrimination against workers in order to encourage or discourage membership in a union. The Right to Work legislation filtering to the states through the Taft-Hartley Act protects worker rights; moreover it promotes the workers’ individual right to freedom of association. In addition, thus without the Taft-Hartley legislation, states could not have enacted right to work legislation, which guarantees employees will not have to join a union as a condition of
employment.
Notwithstanding the issues stated above, Right to Work laws seem fair simply because workers should have the choice of whether they wish to join a union or not.
It is a basic constitutional right – freedom of association. Workers have a right to join a union if they choose and if they choose not to then they should not be forced to still pay union dues. Although it is a fair argument that unions represent workers and promote the rights of those workers when negotiating with businesses yet it also an unquestionable right that if a worker chooses not to be a union member they should not be penalized and refused employment. Another equably harmful impact of not having Right to Work laws is the effect it has on the economy. An argument can be made that unions make some industries less competitive on the global level. Although this may not be a very good cause for the workers it does make U.S. products more expensive due to higher labor costs thus giving U.S. companies a disadvantage within the international business economy. At the end of the day this also will have a negative impact on workers because if profits decrease businesses will lower production and its labor needs will subsequently
decline.
Additionally, states that have passed Right to Work legislation are more attractive to businesses. If businesses choose a locale it also creates more jobs within those states. In Do right-to-work laws bring competitive advantage? scholarly research is cited as supporting right to work laws because the research indicates that right to work laws promotes businesses. Therefore within states that have right to work laws businesses are more likely to relocate or even have plants there. Therefore, I believe that Right to Work laws strengthen economies promoting growth both domestically and globally. Finally, states should pass Right to Work laws in order to strengthen their economies and increase economic growth.

References
How did the Taft-Hartley Act Come About? By Steven Wagner; http://hnn.us/article/1036 http://www.nlrb.gov/who-we-are/our-history/1947-taft-hartley-substantive-provisions Do right-to-work laws bring competitive advantage?; http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2013/07/14/cnbc-right-to-work/2509531/

Right-to-Work Laws Put Employees in the Driver 's Seat
http://www.usnews.com/debate-club/are-right-to-work-laws-good-for-states/right-to-work-laws-put-employees-in-the-drivers-seat