This past week, Michigan became the 24th state to pass a Right to Work (for Less) bill.
Wherever did the legislation originate?
The Center for Media and Democracy knows: it was copied almost verbatim from ALEC model legislation to quash unions.
ALEC, if you did not know, is a secretive organization with 2,000 or so members who are state legislators. It is funded by major corporations. It writes model laws that its members can introduce in their state.
It is, not surprisingly, anti-worker and pro-corporation.
it has model legislation for vouchers, charters, online charters, and getting rid of teacher tenure and certification. It wants to privatize public education, bust unions, and turn everything over to the vagaries of the free market.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
ALEC • Your Unelected Shadow Government At Work
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Representatives designated or selected for the purposes of collective bargaining by the majority of the employees in a unit appropriate for such purposes, shall be the exclusive representatives of all the employees in such unit for the purposes of collective bargaining in respect to rates of pay, wages, hours of employment, or other conditions of employment.
National Labor Relations Act (Sec. 9)
Under American labor law, unlike many other countries, when a majority of workers in a determined bargaining unit, vote to be represented by a union, that union becomes the exclusive representative of all workers in that unit. The purpose is to provide employees with a single, unified voice in determining their conditions of employment and the opportunity for employers to deal with one entity, instead of many competing ones, to establish the rights and responsibilities of both the employer and employees.
Federal law that governs private sector workers, as well as many state public employee laws, guarantees every worker who is represented by a union equal and nondiscriminatory representation – meaning unions must provide the same services, vigorous advocacy, and contractual rights and benefits. The guarantee applies regardless of whether the employee is a union member or not. All non-dues-paying employees are provided full union representation at no charge.
If you are not a member of the union, you are fully covered by the collective bargaining agreement that was negotiated between the union and your employer including wages, pensions, vacations, health insurance, seniority, and working hours.
The statutory right of exclusive representation mandates a “duty of fair representation” on the part of the union. It has the obligation to represent all employees fairly, in good faith, and without discrimination. The right to speak for all employees in the bargaining unit carries with it the corresponding duty to protect them as well.
Federal and state laws also guarantee that no one can be forced to be a member of a union, or to pay any amount of dues or fees to a political or social cause they do not support.
“Right-to-Work” laws make it illegal for employers and unions to mutually agree to require nonunion employees to pay fees to cover the benefits they legally receive under the collective bargaining agreement.
Fees have nothing to do with “forced unionism.”
Organizations such as the Chamber of Commerce, billionaire-funded conservative foundations and their Republican allies, want unions to be the only organizations in America that are required to provide benefits and services to individuals who pay nothing for them. This is the same as enabling some American citizens to opt out of paying taxes while making available all government services.
The real reason for the recent wave of “right-to-work” legislation, and other union weakening laws, has nothing to do with economic competitiveness but the weakening of the labor movement and its political influence. The only institution that stands in the way of the right wing’s domination of our nation’s political and economic system is the American labor movement.
This agenda was unmasked when Wisconsin State Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald explained that “this battle” is about eliminating unions so that “the money is not there” for the labor movement.
Last year, the Michigan director of Americans for Prosperity, chaired nationally by David Koch, said, “We fight these battles on taxes and regulations but really what we would like to see is to take the unions out at the knees so they don’t have the resources to fight these battles.”
In virtually every case, the state legislation is taken straight out of the Koch-funded American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) playbook.
It was Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. who said, “In our glorious fight for civil rights, we must guard against being fooled by false slogans, such as ‘right-to-work.’ It is a law to rob us of our civil rights and job rights. Its purpose is to destroy labor unions and working conditions for everyone… we demand this fraud be stopped.”
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Do you have, or could you create, a perma-linked 1-page summary of the this FYI so that those of us who keep having to repeat the gist of it can just refer others to it?
TIA,
Jon
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Here’s a link to one of several Facebook groups keeping tabs on ALEC —
• ALEC Monitors
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You can drop the conspiracy theories, Diane.
I live in Michigan. This whole thing started when the unions tried to pass Proposition 2. This proposition was crafted by the unions and would have amended the state’s constitution to guarantee public and private-sector employees the right to organize and collectively bargain. Labor spent $21.5 million promoting it, and yet it lost by a margin of 58% to 42%. The people spoke. The unions lost. THAT’S what brought this issue front and center. And THAT’S what prompted Governor Snyder to do an about face on passing right to work legislation.
In essence, the unions were hoisted by their own petard. As for Michigan labor vowing 2014 election year revenge against Snyder and other Republicans, may they have as much success as they did with Proposition 2, and may they spend another $21.5 million of their members dues in the process. It will help encourage members to stop paying dues altogether.
Btw, Governor Snyder has lead Michigan out of the deep dark deficits that were commonplace during the Democratic Governor Jennifer Grandholm’s tenure. In fact, he has created a $457 million surplus here in Michigan. God bless him.
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The Republican party perceives unions to be money laundering mechanisms for the Democratic party. The dues union members pay are used to support candidates who are favorable to the work of the union, which often is a member of the Democratic party. If the members of a particular trade are compelled to be a member of their particular union and the funds from said union support the opposing party than the objective is to eliminate the union requirement and stop the flow of cash. This is all wrapped up in the jobs narrative and other such stuff. Pretty slick.
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Hey, Diane,
How long do I need to wait to get a comment approved by your moderator, who I assume is you?
It’s been 5 hours now. Is there a problem with publishing a well-articulated opposing point of view on your site?
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Brian,
No need to be nasty. I am the sole moderator for this site.
Need I apologize for being offline for five hours? I am writing a book, and oh, I almost forgot, I have a life.
I don’t censor comments for substance or political content. I do ban profanity, and I have a low tolerance for people who insult me on my own blog.
Diane
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Who was being nasty? Who insulted you? Not me. It just seems like if you can’t moderate timely subjects in a timely fashion, you shouldn’t be writing a blog.
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Thank you Diane for explaining who Alec is and the motivation behind Right to Work! You are a strong voice for the rights of all Americans, not just the elite.
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The TEAGOP majority in the Michigan Legislature has gone Stark Raving Mad —
In years to come they shall be known as the Republican Chambers of Horror —
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