This week is National Employee Freedom Week (NEFW), an annual grassroots campaign of more than 85 organizations (including the Center for Union Facts) educating constituents about their rights to leave their union or stop paying the portion of their dues that funds union political activities.
The coalition is also promoting a new policy called “Worker’s Choice,” which creates a new paradigm in labor relations. It would allow employees who have left their unions to negotiate individually with their employers. This overcomes one of the main arguments against “right-to-work” legislation—which allows employees to decline union membership—known as the “free rider” effect (i.e. those who receive the benefit of union representation but don’t pay for it). See here:
To commemorate NEFW, a wide array of labor experts have published op-ed columns voicing their support for workplace democracy:
- Vinnie Vernuccio, director of labor policy at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, and Jeremy Lott, adjunct scholar at the Mackinac Center, explain “Worker’s Choice” in more detail: http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/labor/291408-unions-hate-right-to-work-lets-give-the-worker-a-choice
- Diana Furchtgott-Roth, senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, argues that leaving a union is (still) too difficult: http://www.usnews.com/opinion/articles/2016-08-17/leaving-a-union-should-be-easier-for-employees
- Larry Sand, president of the California Teachers Empowerment Network, discusses the need to reform teachers unions: http://www.ocregister.com/articles/teachers-726147-clovis-california.html
- Michael Schaus, communications director of the Nevada Policy Research Institute, criticizes out-of-touch union bosses: http://www.reviewjournal.com/opinion/employee-freedom-about-protecting-worker-s-choice-not-union
- Akash Chougule, policy analyst at Americans for Prosperity, supports the Employee Rights Act: http://www.theblaze.com/contributions/unions-accountability-and-workers-need-a-choice/
