Senator Jim DeMint Introduces National Right to Work Bill
Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC) has introduced a National Right to Work bill in the Senate, joined by seven Republican original co-sponsors. In a statement issued earlier today, Senator DeMint identified Senators Tom Coburn (R-OK), Orrin Hatch (R-UT), Mike Lee (R-UT), Rand Paul (R-KY), James Risch (R-ID), Pat Toomey (R-PA) and David Vitter (R-LA) as co-sponsors of the National Right to Work Act.
"Right-to-Work" laws generally prohibit "union security" agreements -- or contract provisions between unions and employers making membership or payment of union dues or fees a mandatory condition of employment. A union security agreement is generally a permissible exception to the National Labor Relations Act's prohibition against discrimination based on union membership or support. The 1947 Taft-Hartley amendments to the Act, however, added subsection 14(b), allowing states to pass "right to work" laws to prohibit unions and employers from agreeing to "union security" clauses -- contract provisions which require union membership as a condition of employment. There are currently 22 so-called "right to work" states in the U.S.
The text of Senator DeMint's bill is not yet available, but presumably it would codify in the NLRA language similar to any one of the various state provisions which outlaw mandatory dues provisions. UPDATED (6:00 pm): The National Right to Work Act would strike the provisions of Section 8(a)(3) and Section 8(b) of the NLRA, and Section 2(11) of the Railway Labor Act, which exempt "union security" agreements from prohibitions against discrimination based on union membership or support.
In introducing the bill, the Senators point to a recent poll by the National Right to Work Foundation which reported:
Eighty percent supported the Right to Work principle that union membership and dues payment should be voluntary and not required as a condition of employment.
Senator DeMint's statement asserts:
“No American should be forced to join a union and pay dues to get a job in this country,” said Senator DeMint. “Many Americans are already struggling just to put food on the table, and they shouldn’t have to fear losing their jobs or face discrimination if they don’t want to join a union. Forced-unionism shields unions from member accountability and has a detrimental effect on the economy. In states where companies are forced to hire only union workers, businesses have struggled to compete while they deal with counterproductive work rules.”
Conversely, in previous sessions of Congress, Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA) introduced legislation to strip Section 14(b) out of the NLRA, nullifying state Right-to-Work laws. When he introduced the most recent version, H.R. 6384, in October 2010, the Congressman explained his position thus:
“...Right-to-work laws strip unions of their legitimate ability to collect dues, even when the worker is covered by a union-negotiated collective bargaining agreement. This forces unions to use their time and members’ dues to provide benefits to free riders who are exempt from paying their fair share.... These laws are harmful to states like California, which allows labor unions to organize, because now we have to compete with the race to the bottom as our companies have to compete with those where the workers would like better wages, working conditions and benefits but are unable to organize to get them.”
UPDATED: A copy of Senator DeMint's proposed bill is here.
(H/T: Senatus blog)
