In the context of labor law in the United States, the term right-to-work laws refers to state laws that prohibit union security agreements between employers and labor unions.
And I still don’t know what right-to-work laws are.
Edit: I’m mixing up a at will employment with right to work. Sorry for the confusion. See updated comment below:
Right to work: Joining a union and paying union dues can no longer be a requirement of employment. This slowly degrades the power of the union and ultimately reduces wages and benefits of the workers
Right to work At will employment is: A right to be fired at any point for any reason or no reason at all
The goal is to get around any union protections that require things like a legitimate reason to be fired from a job.
It also has the added bonus of drastically reducing the benefits of unions and making them much easier to prevent.
They prevent you from having to join a union to work at a company. And you don’t have to pay dues either.
You can effectively benefit from the unions bargaining without supporting the union - which if enough people do that kills the union (the goal of the law).
Hopefully, I’m not wrong, but basically unions typically require Members Pay dues out of income. Right to work essentially forbid that practice making do payments optional. Which drives down the union revenue
Unions typically have an agreement where employees don’t have to join the union but they still have to pay a fee equivalent to union dues, and the employer can’t pay non-members more than union members, or other similar restrictions.
The idea is to remove the ability for the employer to offer an advantage to non-members.
TLDR it’s an essential part of making a functional union.
Right to Work means you can have a union job but not join the union. You have the right to”right to work” without being a union member or paying any union dues. Generally it means you get all the benefits without contributing but also unions are usually a lot weaker since so many people opt out, so also the benefits are lesser. Because it is governed by state-level laws, details vary from state to state.
A quick Google search:
And I still don’t know what right-to-work laws are.
Edit: I’m mixing up a at will employment with right to work. Sorry for the confusion. See updated comment below:
Right to work: Joining a union and paying union dues can no longer be a requirement of employment. This slowly degrades the power of the union and ultimately reduces wages and benefits of the workers
Right to workAt will employment is: A right to be fired at any point for any reason or no reason at allThe goal is to get around any union protections that require things like a legitimate reason to be fired from a job.
It also has the added bonus of drastically reducing the benefits of unions and making them much easier to prevent.
I love how we name laws that really mean the exact opposite of what their name implies. Very american.
Very human. Democratic Republic of Korea…Congo…lol.
“Truth Social”
Land of the free
I mix these two up as well - thanks for the clarification.
The way I try to remember it is that it comes from the employers perspective:
Being fired for any or no reason is at will employment.
Right to work has nothing to do with that. It’s about allowing people to not pay union dues. Those people are still protected by the union contract.
You’re right. I updated the comment
You’re conflating “at will employment” with “right to work” laws.
You’re right. I updated the comment
“Right to Work” simply means “Anti-Union”.
They prevent you from having to join a union to work at a company. And you don’t have to pay dues either.
You can effectively benefit from the unions bargaining without supporting the union - which if enough people do that kills the union (the goal of the law).
Hopefully, I’m not wrong, but basically unions typically require Members Pay dues out of income. Right to work essentially forbid that practice making do payments optional. Which drives down the union revenue
Unions typically have an agreement where employees don’t have to join the union but they still have to pay a fee equivalent to union dues, and the employer can’t pay non-members more than union members, or other similar restrictions.
The idea is to remove the ability for the employer to offer an advantage to non-members.
TLDR it’s an essential part of making a functional union.
Right to Work means you can have a union job but not join the union. You have the right to”right to work” without being a union member or paying any union dues. Generally it means you get all the benefits without contributing but also unions are usually a lot weaker since so many people opt out, so also the benefits are lesser. Because it is governed by state-level laws, details vary from state to state.
Is it in Colorado? If it is, it’s a good thing. If not, it’s a bad thing. Right to work is a bad thing.
Colorado does not have Right to Work