Rather than listening to the hype, let's take a look at what a right to work law provides. There are two main provisions:
1) With a right to work law, a person cannot be denied employment because of his or her union membership status. At a unionized employer, folks who are not members of the union cannot be denied a job because they do not belong to the union. At a non-union employer, jobs cannot be refused because a potential employee belongs to the union. Believe it or not, under current Michigan law, the opposite is true.
2) With a right to work law, an employee cannot be fired because he or she joins or leaves a union. At a unionized employer, this means that a worker who chooses not to join the union cannot be fired for that reason. At a non-union shop, this means that a worker who joins the union cannot be fired for that reason.
The unions do not like these laws because, once passed, they require the unions to actually provide a benefit to the members. If membership in a union is viewed by employees as being nothing more than a monthly drain of dues with no discernable benefits, those employees can drop out of the union without consequences for their employment. This means that unions lose the ability to milk dues from all employees and then use to funds for purposes that provide no benefits for the members. It means that a union that plays fast and loose with retirement or health funds of the members cannot us the threat of unemployment to keep members from revolting.
The truth is that right to work laws empower individual workers at the expense of union leaders. They are not an assault on working people; rather, they are an assault on corrupt union bosses. Of course, since it is those same union bosses who provide enormous amounts of funding and support to the Democrats, this is why that party always opposes right to work laws.
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