With “right-to-work” laws now enacted in more than half the states, the issue is starting “to pop” in more legislatures, the nation’s top advocate told Insights Club members this week.
“We’re on a roll here,” Mark A. Mix, president of the National Right to Work Committee, said on the invitation-only Wednesday conference call, which was moderated by David Keene, opinion and editorial editor of The Washington Times and president of the Times’ Insights Club.
In February, Mr. Mix noted, West Virginia’s Republican-led legislative chambers overrode the veto of the state’s Democratic Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin. The votes made the coal-mining heartland the 26th state where workers cannot be compelled to join or support labor unions.
Missouri and Kentucky — and possibly New Hampshire — are likely candidates for upcoming political battles on the issue, said Mr. Mix.
Organized labor unions, and their allies and supporters in both political parties, continue to vigorously oppose the right-to-work committee’s efforts. But with states like Michigan, Wisconsin and Indiana already on board with right-to-work laws, and public opinion also tilting away from “forced unionism,” political leaders are increasingly likely to believe that “it’s safe to go into the water,” and take up the issue, Mr. Mix said.
Also, on the federal level, Mr. Mix and his allies are applauding House and Senate bills that would repeal 1935 provisions in the National Labor Relations Act that permit employers, under a collective bargaining agreement, to require employees to join a union.
The National Right to Work Committee, which has around 2.8 million members and supporters, has been fighting compulsory union membership and dues-paying since the 1950s. The nonprofit National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, which Mr. Mix also helms, has been helping workers in their workplace battles over unions since the 1960s.
The organizations are created “for one thing,” Mr. Mix said: “We believe every worker should have the right to join a labor union, but no worker should be compelled to pay dues or fees to a union just to get or keep a job.”
“It has been a long fight, but we are beginning to reap the harvest,” said Mr. Mix, adding that 94-year-old Reed Larson, the committee’s iconic, now-retired leader, is still active and following the issue.
An audio recording of the event is available to Insights Club members.
Cheryl Wetzstein is manager of special sections for TWT Media Group.
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