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0 pointsthomascgalvin1y ago0 comments

Right to work is 100% anti-union. In reality, it's "the right to work without any protections."

The idea used to sell it is that you don't owe your employer any loyalty, and they don't owe you any loyalty; either of you can walk away at any time.

In reality, this creates a completely asymmetric power dynamic. You can be fired at any time, for any reason, which means you have little power to advocate for better compensation, safer working conditions, and so on.

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8 comments · 2 top-level

bhhaskin1y ago· 4 in thread

That's not what right to work is at all.

What you are describing is "at will" employment.

Right to work means that you have a right to choose whether or not to be in a union. It effectively makes "union shops" illegal.

Unions don't like it because it makes them less effective.

JoshTriplett1y ago

Which is to say, it's only anti-union if people don't actually feel they get value from being in the union. If people do feel they get value from being in the union they'll join the union.

vundercind1y ago

It exposes the union pretty directly to one of the deadliest problems in political science and economics: the free-rider problem.

NotACop1821y ago

But if the majority are in a union and those that don’t join reap all the benefits the union gains in contracts how is that fair for those who are supporting the union.

1 more reply

lukas0991y ago

That's not exactly it, either. Right to work means unions and companies can't negotiate union security agreements. These are agreements that non-union workers have to pay to support the union, since they are benefitting from the union. Essentially they allow the union to coordinate individuals in a prisoner's dilemma.

Where your comment misses the mark is that workers in non-rtw states don't have to join or even pay for unions. They can work for companies that do not have union security agreements. There is no coercion in any step in the chain.

fsckboy1y ago· 2 in thread

most of what you've said is pure pro union. propaganda is not necessarily untrue in every regard, but it selectively paints a rosy picture toward a particular agenda. Union workers can always "walk away any time", your "right to work selling point" doesn't even make sense.

right-to-work laws simply say that you can work for a company without being forced to join the union that is representing some/all of your fellow workers. Forcing workers to join unions (and pay dues) in order to get a job greatly enhances the power of union bosses, and as we all know, power corrupts.

pessimizer1y ago

> right-to-work laws simply say

It's not that simple. Right-to-work laws say that even if you don't join the union, you can't be left out of the benefits that the union negotiates with the boss. "Right-to-benefit-from-the-union-without-paying-dues" doesn't sound as fair as "right-to-work" though.

vsuperpower20211y ago

On that note, I fell for a union scam. They got an entire day of propaganda to give me, and made it clear I had to sign up if I wanted to keep working there. Turns out they're paper tigers, but it took 1 click to sign up online, and I have to send them a signed certified letter at the start of the year to cancel...

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