Newsweek: The Assault on Unions Is Hurting All Workers

[Omaha Steve]

Hundreds of union members gather inside the State Capitol building in Madison, Wisc., February 24, 2015. A hearing into a Republican-led drive made Wisconsin the 25th right-to-work state. BRENDAN O'BRIEN/REUTERS


http://www.newsweek.com/assault-unions-hurting-all-workers-331991

Anti-union state and local policymakers in communities across the country are attacking an already weakened labor movement by enacting so-called right-to-work laws that inhibit workers from bargaining for better wages and benefits.

“Right-to-work laws” make it illegal for workers and employers to negotiate a contract that requires everyone who benefits from a union contract to pay their fair share of the costs of administering it.

Wisconsin became the 25th state to enact a right-to-work law this spring. Following on its heels, the Republican-led Missouri legislature enacted a similar law yesterday. And where statewide legislation has previously failed, a new strategy has emerged among anti-union lawmakers. These laws are going local in Kentucky and Illinois, with city and county governments enacting ordinances to create local right-to-work zones.

Numerous studies show that these laws harm all workers—regardless of their union status—without stimulating any additional job creation. Moreover, it is doubtful that the new, local right-to-work zone ordinances are legal.

FULL story at link.