Donna S. Edwards is the president of the Maryland State and DC AFL-CIO.
Mark Mix’s Labor Day Opinion touts right-to-work claims and urges us to remember the “injustice of forced unionism” (“On Labor Day, remember injustice of forced unionism”).
Labor Day honors and gives thanks to the daily efforts of hardworking people who build, serve and protect our communities every day. A real tribute to workers demands an honest conversation about the state of American workers and American labor — not the rhetoric.
There is ample evidence that right-to-work laws hurt all workers — union and nonunion — and our communities. The false claims that supporters give for right-to-work laws are attempts to deceive people from the real reasons they want to pass these bills — to use the laws against working people and rake in huge profits for businesses and corporate CEOs by securing a pathway for them to pay workers less, provide less benefits, work us more and prevent us from doing anything about it at the worksite or with elected officials and legislatures.
A recently released analysis from the Economic Policy Institute finds that workers in right-to-work states earn 6.7% less on average than comparable workers in states without RTW laws. That is more than double the 3.2% wage loss that EPI found in 2015, which amounts to more than $4,000 less per year. EPI’s analysis controlled for differences in demographics, jobs, state labor markets and cost of living.
Right-to-work states have weaker labor standards, fewer worker protections (including health and safety protections) and less access to benefits, like healthcare and retirement. Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and other studies show that RTW states have higher workplace fatalities.
This is what “right-to-work” has actually delivered: less bargaining power for workers; weaker labor, safety and health standards; lower pay; and fewer benefits to help sustain families.
This is not surprising. Right-to-work proponents’ goal is to weaken unions and make it harder for workers to negotiate their wages, healthcare, retirement benefits and working conditions. In RTW states, workers who choose not to join unions or pay dues are still fully covered by collective bargaining agreements. They receive the same negotiated wages, benefits, workplace protections and services of the union as dues-paying members.
The result is not more freedom. It is a weaker hand for working people. RTW is a boon for big business and billionaires who spend millions preventing workers from organizing.
And the public and workers understand this.
Gallup reports that 71% of Americans approve of unions, and even a majority of Republicans now support unions. A recent survey found that 59% of workers believe that unions are more needed today than ever. Among those ages 18-30, it’s 67%. And 57% of young nonunion workers would join a union if given the chance, up from 47% last year. A whopping 50 million workers say they would join a union if they could.
That isn’t a picture of workers being forced into unions. It is a picture of workers trying to get the opportunity to have unions.
Young workers also see unions as a way to address the economic pressures they face. Seventy-four percent say unions are good for workers’ ability to afford the cost of living. And, when asked about the best path to higher wages, young workers were more likely to choose increased union membership than electing either Democrats or Republicans.
So, ask yourself who benefits when workers are prevented from joining together to represent themselves and when their unions have fewer resources to fight for the workers. Question what’s at stake when democratic rights are limited in the workplace. And why, if workers are supposedly free to organize, are so many workers who want unions unable to get them?
For decades, employers have exploited weaknesses in federal labor law to discourage workers from organizing. Workers who try to form unions can face intimidation, retaliation and aggressive union-busting campaigns, while penalties for violating labor law are often too weak to deter misconduct.
That’s why we need the Protecting the Right to Organize Act — the PRO Act. Workers should not have to risk their jobs simply to exercise a right that federal law supposedly guarantees.
The choice should be simple: If a worker wants a union, he or she should be free to join one.
Remember, unions are not enemies of worker freedom. They deliver free speech, freedom to assemble and democracy to the worksite and to our communities. Rebuilding worker power is good policy for our community and our state. The spillover effect of unionization benefits everyone, by raising wages for all workers and reducing income inequality. The additional spending power builds our schools and keeps our small businesses thriving.
Reader reactions, pro or con, are welcomed at civiltalk@iniusa.org.
