Michigan voting on "right to work", what is the controversy here?

[Jim in CT]

Originally Posted by JohnnyD

What is the negative to giving people a choice to be part of a union or not? If unions are so great and do so much good for their members, then they won't have any trouble retaining every single one of their members.

Bingo, that's why I started this thread.

Or, to put it another way, which I think makes the point even more clear...how do you justify forcing someone to give their money to a political organization that they have no desire to support? How is it different from forcing someone to give money to the NRA or to the Catholic Church?

The people opposed to this law say the intent is to destroy the union, and thus un-do all the good the union has done for the workers. The reality is, the union can only be destroyed if no one chooses to stay in the union, which could only happen if no one saw the union providing any benefit.

If the workers truly value what the union does for them, it's clearly in their self-interest to continue to give the union money. Those that don't want to be in the union, will no longer be forced to financially support it.

I don't see how anyone can argue with that.

[Tagger]

I've worked 12 yrs. non union .. No insurance,, no pension ,, If you fall your fired and have absolutely nothing to show for those 12 yrs. Drove a sht box truck and lived from hand to mouth ..

I've worked 28 yrs. union and have health benefits (blue cross) ,,dental,, pension,, annuity . and a better wage and live better ,, not rich, but doing well .. don't booze,, drug , smoke cigs or gamble .

I'm the exception .. Not many make it to the end in my line of work . Was on a job with 4 fatality's ,, A number of jobs with people maimed for life .. crushed body's,, head injuries .. lot's of people fall by the wayside with backs ,, knee's ,,other injuries .. It's a good time to bash the Union's , This has to be someone's fault .. Maybe do a study on Labor history and see why unions came about .. Now if we can just roll back these child labor laws we could compete in the world . I think you may get your wish and see unions go .

[RIJIMMY]

Originally Posted by Tagger

I've worked 12 yrs. non union .. No insurance,, no pension ,, If you fall your fired and have absolutely nothing to show for those 12 yrs. Drove a sht box truck and lived from hand to mouth ..

I've worked 28 yrs. union and have health benefits (blue cross) ,,dental,, pension,, annuity . and a better wage and live better ,, not rich, but doing well .. don't booze,, drug , smoke cigs or gamble .

I'm the exception .. Not many make it to the end in my line of work . Was on a job with 4 fatality's ,, A number of jobs with people maimed for life .. crushed body's,, head injuries .. lot's of people fall by the wayside with backs ,, knee's ,,other injuries .. It's a good time to bash the Union's , This has to be someone's fault .. Maybe do a study on Labor history and see why unions came about .. Now if we can just roll back these child labor laws we could compete in the world . I think you may get your wish and see unions go .

I appreciate your post but you do realize many, many people have the same benefits and have no unions? I am sure that varies by line of work, but then we have laws. There are tons of laws around the workplace. you fall on the job, your company, union or not, is responsible. We have family rights acts, discrimination laws, etc. Many of the battles fought by unions have been won and as a result we have better working conditions. But, unions, like our federal govt, have become bloated organizations that only serve to serve themselves and frequently bite the hands that feed them.

[JohnnyD]

Originally Posted by Tagger

Maybe do a study on Labor history and see why unions came about .. Now if we can just roll back these child labor laws we could compete in the world . I think you may get your wish and see unions go .

The law isn't union-busting. The law gives people the choice to opt-out if they feel as though the union is not of personal benefit to them.

Every single person I have spoken to about this that is pro-union refuses to answer one very simple question:

What is the negative to giving workers a choice to be part of a union or not? If unions are so great and do so much good for their members, then they won't have any trouble retaining every single one of their members.

[Jim in CT]

Originally Posted by JohnnyD

.

Every single person I have spoken to about this that is pro-union refuses to answer one very simple question:

What is the negative to giving workers a choice to be part of a union or not? If unions are so great and do so much good for their members, then they won't have any trouble retaining every single one of their members.

Johnny, I keep asking that same exact question. No one even attempts to answer. Instead, the pro-union folks claim that you hate workers, hate the middle class, or some such nonsense. Tagger, whom I do not know, assumes that if you favor "right to work", that you must also want to roll back child labor laws.

I say it's reasonable to allow people to choose whether or not they wish to join a union. Tagger claims that's morally equivalent to advocating for child slave labor.

[Jim in CT]

Originally Posted by Tagger

Maybe do a study on Labor history and see why unions came about .. Now if we can just roll back these child labor laws we could compete in the world . I think you may get your wish and see unions go .

"Maybe do a study on Labor history and see why unions came about"

I know why they came about, and back then, they served a legitimate purpose. That was then. Today, we have federal laws that offer many of the same protections that unions fought for back in the day.

In the case of public unions...Tagger, are you suggesting that without unions, the general public would expect teachers to live in a trailer and eat cat food? Because I don't hear anyone saying that. What people like me are saying, is that you can't give cops a $50,000-a-year pension at age 45. We simply cannot afford to do that.

There are lots of middle class folks who are not in unions. What unions (particularly public unions) demand, hurts every single one of us.