Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) have reintroduced the National Right to Work Act, legislation that ends forced union dues for American workers all across the country.
Americans for Tax Reform supports this legislation and urges all members of Congress to co-sponsor.
“No one should have to pay someone for the right to have a job. Forced union dues were recognized as wrong when congress passed the Taft-Hartley Act of 1947,” said Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform. “Everyone in a free country has the right to work without being asked to pay off union bosses. I applaud Senator Paul and Congressman Wilson for their leadership and urge their colleagues to support the National Right to Work Act.”
Right to Work laws allow workers the freedom of employment without forced membership in a labor union or forced payment to a union boss. Existing Right to Work Laws protect 166 million Americans in 27 states, more than half the U.S. population.
Even though the Taft-Hartley Act of 1947 authorized states to pass their own Right to Work laws, employers in some states still compel their employees to join a union as a condition of employment.
This authority comes from the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) and the Railway Labor Act (RLA), federal legislation passed nearly a century ago. The RLA also bans Right to Work laws from protecting workers in the railroad and airline industries, putting thousands of Americans at risk of losing their jobs if they do not wish to join a union or pay dues.
The National Right to Work Act is a simple, one-page bill that repeals language in both the NLRA and RLA that allows employers to force their workers to join a union or pay union dues as a condition of employment. While workers are free to join a union if they choose to do so, this bill simply affirms that Americans never have to join a union just to get a job.
Expanding Right to Work at the federal level will be a massive victory for American workers. Research shows that Right to Work states experience stronger growth in the number of people employed, growth in manufacturing employment, and growth in the private sector.
According to the National Institute for Labor Relations Research, the percentage growth in the number of people employed between 2007-2017 in Right to Work states was 8.8%, and 4.2% in forced-unionism states.
Growth in manufacturing employment between 2012-2017 in Right to Work states was 5.5%, and 1.7% in forced-unionism states.
The percentage growth in the private sector from 2007-2017 in Right to Work states was 13.0%, and 10.1% in forced-unionism states.
Additionally, states that compel workers to join a union are losing residents at a rapid rate. An analysis by Stan Greer of the National Institute for Labor Relations Research found that forced unionism states, between 2007-2017, experienced net migration of -7.4%, whereas Right to Work states experienced a 1.6% growth in number of residents.
If implemented, the National Right To Work Act will ensure that no American will ever have to make the choice between putting food on the table or paying a greedy union boss. ATR supports this legislation and urges its swift passage.
Meanwhile Democrats are threatening to repeal Right to Work protections. As seen in this video, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris vow to ban Right to Work laws.
Harris said: “It has to be about, for example, banning Right to Work laws. That needs to happen.”
Biden said: “We should change the federal law [so] that there is no Right to Work allowed anywhere in the country. For real. Not a joke. Not a joke.”
Harris and Biden also documented their anti-Right to Work position in writing here and here. And both have endorsed legislation called the PRO Act which bans Right to Work laws.
The 27 Right to Work states are: Florida, Wisconsin, Michigan, Iowa, Arizona, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Texas, Tennessee, Indiana, Kentucky, Nevada, Oklahoma, Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota, Wyoming, West Virginia, Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, Arkansas, Idaho, Utah, Kansas. Right to Work legislation is also advancing in New Hampshire and Montana.
Click here or below to watch Kamala Harris and Joe Biden vow to abolish Right to Work: