The Right to Work
William J. Dell – 16 March 2011
Amore Dei, Familiae, Patriae ducit !
There has been much in the news lately about the push-back of a number of States concerning their citizen’s right to work. Because of large scale unemployment and requirements for those States to balance their budget, Governors and Legislatures are endeavoring to create a more favorable employment atmosphere within their States. By passing these “Right to Work” laws they hope to entice relocation of new corporate ventures from out-of-state to the benefit of their unemployed citizens. If they are successful in enticing the new employers, the States will also favorably increase tax revenues to the benefit of all the State’s citizens.
Understandably the Trade Unions are against this push-back. This is because the Unions wish to hold on to their power within the workplace and the political arenas. Power which they enjoy because of compulsory dues collection.
Generally speaking there have been two recognized classes of worker in our nation – “white collar” and “blue collar.” “White collar” workers have typically been professionals and semi-professionals who negotiated employment contracts one-on-one with their employer. They generally are employed for some fixed term or “at will” meaning their employment can be terminated by the employer or the employee at any time. If they are not happy with the terms of their contract they are free to leave at the end of the term or renegotiate their contract. Since they are contracting for a fixed term or “at will” employment one-on-one with their employer, why do they need a union? There can be no collective bargaining when one is negotiating in a one-on-one forum for employment.
The reader must understand that I am not against Unions. I believe historically they have done much good in this nation. “Blue collar” workers have typically been skilled and unskilled hourly wage workers. In the nineteenth and first half of the twentieth centuries, these workers had some employers, but not all, who thought they owned their employees. Unions were formed to correct the injustices of these callous employers. The Unions are responsible for appropriate child labor laws and the closure of “sweat shops.” They are also responsible for creating a safer workplace in many instances. But these labor laws to protect “blue collar” workers are now in place and have been for many, many years.
As I said I am not against Unions. I am only against compulsory Union membership. According to our Declaration of Independence, we are endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights – Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. Because of this every worker should be at “liberty” to choose both where they want to work and whether or not they want to join a Union.
The Thirteenth Amendment of our Constitution reads:
Amendment XIII. Section 1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction. Section 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
It is the opinion of this writer that compulsory union membership, in any form, is unconstitutional under the Thirteenth Amendment. It is a form of “involuntary servitude” just as slavery was prior to the Civil War. Compulsory Union membership is “involuntary servitude” because it requires the worker to belong to and pay dues to an organization which they, if left to their own choice, may not care to support; and, which may be against their own personal mores and political expression. No worker should be required, against their own personal beliefs, to join a Union to provide for their family. Lastly, when the commandment was given “Six days shalt thou labor and do all thy work,” God did not add — but only in a Union Shop !
