Right to Work

[Pootnaigle]

Yep you are correct on all aspects. Right to work only benefits the employer never the workers.Drives wages and benefits down,Allows non union contractors to perform your job lessening your leverage as a union.

[Boomer gone soft]

So if I understand this correctly the guy working beside me mite not be in the union, but would get all the benefits that I bargained for with out paying for it?
If we go on strike do they honor the picket line?
Does the union have to fight for there rights like the union people?
If this is the case I don't think any of it is right & I would not want any part of it.

Kansas is a right to work state.....Majority of my family (like everybody else) works aircraft.

Strikes are quite the joke with all of the rats and scabs going across the line.

I was a Union Steward for Local 1523 when I was a wood tick.....had to represent the rats sames as the Brothers-- that really stuck in my throat!

The ONLY difference between the rats and the Brothers is that rats can't vote on the contract.

Right to Work only encourages the parasites and lowers the bargaining power of the Union.

[Boomer gone soft]

There's also talk in the State Legislature of making Minnesota RTW....

[electriklady]

"Right to work" state.......doesnt that sound enticing? Like something good?

Door is correct....."right to work" is the "baby" of the chamber of commerce

The problem being that a lot of Americans today are mindless drones.....they hear "Right to work" and it sounds like something good.........something we would all want.....they dont bother to research what it actually means. There is NOTHING good about "right to work" states......cept maybe if you are a rat scab a$$hole who has a "entitlement" mentality.

[lewy]

It sounds to me that if you have no pride, you would want to work in a right to work state, that way you could receive all of the benefits of a union without paying the cost. Almost sounds like socialism to me.

[rcdallas]

OK SwampRAT, Use this as an example. You and your better half are out to dinner and the waiter just brought you a big ole' rare prime rib just like you ordered it. The next thing you know, some guy comes along and takes half of your meal back to his table and eats it. You're gonna be pissed aren't ya ? He's eating half of your steak that you paid for. It gets worse. After finishing your meal, he complains to the manager that his steak was too rare and they compensate him with a gift certificate for a free dinner. EL is right, you do have a choice, if you don't want to be union, that's fine, just go find a rat shop to work in and go be a rat, no problem, just stay the f^(& out of my shop. Ask a teacher in your beloved state of FloriDUH, how they like being RTW. Lowest rates in the country. Not all union people are lineman. Any state that is not RTW, get ready, these dumb ass repukes want it and we need to stop it now.

That is the best example I've heard.

I had it out not too long ago with a non due paying member. He wants all the benefits, then trashes the union. If you don't want to pay fine with me but don't you be quick to grab the contract and start hollering out shit when management does you wrong.

[electriklady]

An employer does not have to require a secret ballot election.......as it stands now.....but with the amendment...even if the majority of the employees want the union and the employer agrees.....a secret ballot election must be held. Again the chamber of horrors...oppps commerce is behind this.

[Boomer gone soft]

Swamp,

The "secret ballot" under NLRB law is neither "secret" nor a fair "ballot".

We've had this discussion before. Requiring a "secret ballot" is an union busting tactic. The company disputes the check card, then requests the "secret ballot". The company then has 45 days to harass organizers, threaten lay-offs / plant closings, and have mandatory company propaganda meetings. Meanwhile, the union cannot present their side during company hours or even be on company property.

No American would call it a fair election if the President were elected under similar rules.

How to fix this? Either card check needs to be accepted as valid or serious re-working of the so-called "secret ballot" rules.

[Stinger]

Right to work states are the result of business buying politicians. I worked in a right to work state. CW Wright was an open shop. Open for favortisim, open for pay difference for the same work, open to abuse your rights as a worker, open to do what ever they wanted without fear of being held accountable for any of their actions. Open for one of the worst safety records in the industry secnond to Dead Simpson. Trade unions do not break budgets, cause short falls, cause deficiets. Because we want what we feel is fair benefiets and wages for our work we are considered thugs? I do not think so. Look at all the public traded utilities- none of them are hurting for capital or dividens to pay their stock holders. The union directly impacts that, we should get what we deserve. As EL says, capital is the fruit of the labor force. Right to work sates let business do what ever they want to their employees as far as abuse of their rights and pay- juxst look at wal-mart. The biggest mistake I made in my life was not going union earlier. For those wo think being union is a free ride- I got news for you. Most trade unions you better a productive employee or find another job. lets be real too- Unions do have cronyismlike any other outfit that is fact of life you will never change, union or non-union. I am proud to be an IBEW lineman.

[topgroove]

To set the record (and the name) straight, right to work for less doesn’t guarantee any rights. In fact, by weakening unions and collective bargaining, it destroys the best job security protection that exists: the union contract. Meanwhile, it allows workers to pay nothing and get all the benefits of union membership. Right to work laws say unions must represent all eligible employees, whether they pay dues or not. This forces unions to use their time and members’ dues money to provide union benefits to free riders who are not willing to pay their fair share.
Right to work laws lower wages for everyone. The average worker in a right to work state makes about $5,333 a year less than workers in other states ($35,500 compared with $30,167). Weekly wages are $72 greater in free-bargaining states than in right to work states ($621 versus $549).Working families in states without right to work laws have higher wages and benefit from healthier tax bases that improve their quality of life.
Federal law already protects workers who don’t want to join a union to get or keep their jobs. Supporters claim right to work laws protect employees from being forced to join unions. Don’t be fooled—federal law already does this, as well as protecting nonmembers from paying for union activities that violate their religious or political beliefs. This individual freedom argument is a sham.
Right to work endangers safety and health standards that protect workers on the job by weakening unions that help to ensure worker safety by fighting for tougher safety rules. According to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, the rate of workplace deaths is 51 percent higher in states with right to work, where unions can’t speak up on behalf of workers.Right to work laws just aren’t fair to dues-paying members. If a nonunion worker is fired illegally, the union must use its time and money to defend him or her, even if that requires going through a costly legal process. Everyone benefits, so all should share in the process. Nonmembers can even sue the union if they think it has not represented them well enough.