Well now that Michigan is a Right-to-Work state, lets talk
about what that really means and forget about the total bullshit screamed by
very angry union workers who were either badly misled by their union bosses or
just want to believe things that are just not true.
1.
The law does NOT bust unions. Unions have a
legal right to exist and to collectively bargain with employers for workers
that are members of the union, , just like they always have so nothing changes.
2.
The one big change is that under the law, workers
can refuse to join a union and/or refuse to have dues taken out of their wages
by the unions.
3.
Unions say that this creates “free riders” which
are workers that don’t pay dues to the union but enjoy the benefits the union
provides for them through collective bargaining such as higher wages and various
benefits.
4.
This is best answered by actual union members
who support Right-to-Work laws. These union members say that unions in “closed
shops” where every worker HAS to join the union, have no reason to listen to
individual workers about what they want in the working place because the
workers have no choice but to be in the union.
5.
The rationale of the Right-to-Work law gives
each worker a choice whether to join or support a union if that union is not working
in the worker’s best interest. This freedom to choose will make unions way more
responsive to worker needs than they have been in the past.
6.
Statistics show that in Right-to-Work states,
75% of workers who have a choice about joining a union do.
7.
Many union workers do not like the lavish
spending of their dues on perks for union bosses. Or they don’t like the union
using their dues to politically support people the workers do not support. Now
their voices will be heard because they have a choice!
8.
How does this law affect the way unions have
operated in Michigan
in the past? Well for one, the unions will be way more sensitive to their
member’s needs, wants and opinions. Union bosses now may be limited as to their
political agenda with workers not wanting their dues going for politics they
may not agree with or for politics at all instead wanting their dues money
saved in case of a strike or for worker benefits.
9.
I don’t think there will be any dramatic change
to the labor field here in Michigan .
The United Auto Workers have a long history here (birthplace) and things will
remain status quo but I will be watching with interest how this law affects all
the other unions and if there will be competition between unions for members or
even within unions themselves.
10.
More later…
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