Why buy a cow?

Twice now we’ve been treated to editorials from the Detroit News priming us with praise for Michigan’s Right-to-Work law. Incidentally, “right-to-work,” in my humble opinion, is the worst misnomer since the Red Delicious apple.

Here are some facts to bear in mind when you read that former Gov. Rick Snyder saved us from the evil of mandatory union membership. 1. A “closed shop” is one in which a worker MUST join a union to work in that shop. It has been illegal in all 50 states since 1947. The Wagner Act of 1935 established the National Labor Relations Board to oversee elections upon request, and requiring both sides to bargain in good faith, and to judge unfair labor practices. An “agency shop” permits unions to assess a service fee to cover the cost of representing non-members. The Taft-Hartley Act of 1947 outlawed secondary strikes, gave the president the power to end a strike if its continuance will damage the country, outlawed the closed shop and gave the states the power to outlaw the agency shop, while at the same time requiring the union to represent EVERY eligible worker, whether or not they chose to join the union.

Of course, the result is exactly what was intended, the weakening of union membership. Why pay dues if you can get all the same protections and benefits for free? Benefits that shrink along with union strength, as union participation has dropped in the past 10 years. Health care coverage? Raises? Pensions? You are on your own, buddy. It is a fact that workplace injuries and fatalities trend higher in right-to-work states.

Well, I don’t expect to change any minds, just to arm you with some facts you won’t read in the Detroit News.