The Ridgewood Blog Brings a Free Market Laissez-faire Point of View to Local, New Jersey State and National Issues.
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, in recent years, unionization efforts at major companies like Starbucks, Amazon, and Costco have made headlines, sparking debates about the future of labor movements in America. However, the reality is that private-sector union membership has reached an all-time low—just 5.9% in 2024.
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Lyndhurst NJ, Artemisia Morley, a cast member at the Lyndhurst, NJ, location of Medieval Times, has submitted a Request for Review to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in Washington, D.C., defending her and her coworkers’ right to vote unwanted officials of the American Guild of Variety Artists (AGVA) union out of the workplace. Morley is receiving free legal representation from National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation staff attorneys.
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Camden NJ, group of Camden-area drivers for the South Jersey Transportation Authority (SJTA) is suing union officials in federal court for seizing money from their paychecks in violation of the First Amendment. The drivers are receiving free legal aid from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys.
Walker Hits Back at Obama
by JOEL GEHRKE March 10, 2015 10:15 AM
Read more at: https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/415158/walker-hits-back-obama-joel-gehrke
States That Adopt This Policy Have Much Better Economies
Stephen Moore
July 12, 2014
Right-to-work is back in the spotlight, thanks to the recent Supreme Court decision in Harris v. Quinn.
The court ruled that Illinois home care workers cannot be compelled to pay union dues to the Service Employees International Union if those workers are not union members.
This was a limited victory for worker rights against coercive unionization and forced payment of union dues of all employees. Most Americans would probably be surprised to learn that in 2014 this is not already a protected right in most states.
In 26 states, workers can be compelled to join a union and pay dues at a union shop whether they wish to or not. Under the 1935 National Labor Relations Act, workers can even be forced to pay union dues for partisan political activities with which they don’t agree.
The one exception is that under the Taft-Hartley Act of 1947, states may pass right-to-work laws that protect workers from being required to join the union as a condition of employment. With the recent passage of right-to-work laws in Michigan and Indiana, there are now 24 states with this workplace freedom, while the other 26 states still allow forced unionization.
In our new book, An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of States, (with Arthur Laffer, Travis Brown, and Rex Sinquefield), we find that these right-to-work states are performing much better economically than the non-right-to-work states.
Many businesses refuse to locate a new plant in a state that doesn’t offer this worker and employer protection against coercive powers of unions. It was no geographical accident that Boeing built its new assembly plant in South Carolina and not in its home state of Washington and why the unions and the Obama administration tried to block the move. South Carolina is a right-to-work state, Washington isn’t.
The nearby charts show what a difference a right-to-work law can make for jobs and economic development. Population growth over the last decade was 13 percent in right-to-work states versus only 6.5 percent in the others.
Nearly five million Americans left forced-union states for right-to-work states, no doubt because right-to-work states are where the jobs are. Total income growth was about 10 percent higher in right-to-work states.
This refutes the argument by the Left that union power makes a state richer. If union power is such a positive force for the middle class and blue-collar workers, why are workers voting with their feet against these policies?
The answer is that Americans go to where the jobs are. And job creation is happening at twice the pace over the last decade in right-to-work states. This is a lesson that Indiana and Michigan have learned.
Both states have seen healthy job growth above the national average (even with the bankruptcy of Detroit) since workplace freedom was extended to workers.
In researching our book, we discovered that the two most important policy variables influencing the prosperity of particular states are whether a state has a right-to-work law and its income tax rate (the lower the better). These two factors help explain the flow of jobs and people from the Midwest and Northeast to the South and Southeast.
In our interviews with CEOs of major companies over the years, many told me they wouldn’t even consider moving a new plant or facility to a state unless the state has a right-to-work law. Forced-union states like Maryland aren’t even in the game.
If every state had such a law, the competitiveness of the entire nation would improve and fewer jobs would go overseas. In the spirit of 1776, I would love to see Congress amend the NLRA defining a nationally protected right to work and extend to all Americans a First Amendment right not to associate with a union.
Given the union power hold in Washington, however, that isn’t likely to happen any time soon. Until it does, every state should improve its competitive climate domestically and internationally by enacting a right-to-work law. This is one of those wonderful rare instances where states can do good and do well at the same time.
Originally posted on the Washington Examiner.
The Supreme Court Just Dealt a Devastating Blow to Public Unions
By Sam Baker andEmma Roller
June 30, 2014
The case, Harris v. Quinn, involves Pamela Harris, a home-caregiver in Illinois who takes care of her disabled son. Harris is among home caregivers who have decided not to unionize through the Service Employees International Union, opting instead to bargain directly with the Medicaid recipients who decide how much money to allocate to their caregivers.
The case posed a challenge to so-called “fair-play fees,” which allow unions to collect dues from employees who aren’t in the union but who still benefit from the bargains unions strike with employers.
In the case of public-sector unions, though, the employer is the government. And for that reason, the challengers in Harris argued, the unions’ collective bargaining is inherently a political activity—unions are essentially lobbying the government.
Supreme Court to consider ‘kill shot’ on public sector unions
By Tim Devaney – 06/28/14 01:06 PM EDT
The Supreme Court will make its most important ruling in labor law in decades next week when it weighs in on a right-to-work case that could determine whether non-union workers can be compelled to pay public sector union dues.
Courts for years have recognized the rights of unions to ask non-members to pay dues for union negotiating costs, but a group of home healthcare workers in Harris vs. Quinn are challenging dues they pay to a branch of the Service Employees International Union as a violation of free speech.
The case is pitting business groups and the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation against labor giants like the SEIU, which worry the court could rule broadly to prevent all non-members of public sector unions from being compelled to pay dues.
Such a decision from the court, which is expected to rule on Monday, could deliver a “kill shot” to organized labor at a time when it is already struggling with a declining membership.
Still, some labor supporters say they’re anticipating a loss.
“I expect the worst,” said Ross Eisenbrey, vice president of the progressive Economic Policy Institute.
The case was brought by Pamela Harris, who receives money from the state of Illinois to take care of her son.
Read more: https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/210882-high-court-to-consider-kill-shot-on-public-sector-unions#ixzz35xaMPms9
>U.S. SENATE CANDIDATE IAN LINKER ISSUES LABOR DAY STATEMENT PRAISING THE AMERICAN WORKER AND RIGHT-TO-WORK STATES
(Ridgewood, NJ): On Labor Day, conservative Republican U.S. Senate candidate from New Jersey Ian Linker issued the following statement:
We should celebrate all American workers this Labor Day, like every Labor Day, and remember the millions of Americans that are out of work this year. We should also recognize and praise the 22 right-to-work states that exercised their right under the Taft-Hartley Act and preserve for their individual workers the freedom to decide whether or not to join a union and the freedom to decide whether or not to pay union dues – the essence of American freedom. These states preserve workplace freedoms for American workers that unions and their political allies would gladly deprive from their workers. As freedom loving Americans, we should celebrate freedom for all of our workers and our people and oppose any group that organizes in opposition to our founding principles.
