Software Club 210: Light Red/Club_Software_210_Light_Red_Micro_Star_1997.iso/sba/f140.sbe

Text File | 1997-01-01 | 3KB | 66 lines

@053 CHAP ZZ

        ┌───────────────────────────────────────────────┐
        │ THE "UNION SHOP" AND STATE RIGHT-TO-WORK LAWS │
        └───────────────────────────────────────────────┘

The National Labor Relations Act ("NLRA"), a federal law
that has governed labor union/management disputes since
the days of FDR and the New Deal, generally makes it
illegal for a company to require that a person be a member
of a labor union before he or she can be hired as an
employee.  Thus, the so-called "closed shop" has been
illegal under federal law for many years.

However, a "union shop" contract between a company and a
union is still permitted under the NLRA.  A "union shop"
is, in simple terms, a situation where a person can be
hired by a company without first being a union member, but
is required, under the collective bargaining agreement
between the company and the union, to become a member of
the union (usually within 30 days after becoming employed),
in order to remain an employee.  A similar arrangement that
is also acceptable under the NLRA is an "agency shop"
agreement, which provides that an employee need not join
the union, but still must pay dues to the union in order
to remain an employee.

But the NLRA provides that a state, if it wishes to provide
stricter limitations on mandatory union membership and
mandatory union dues payments, may prohibit such "union
shop" or "agency shop" agreements, as a matter of state law.
To date, 21 states have enacted such "right-to-work" laws,
which all guarantee, at a minimum, that no person may be
denied employment for refusal to join a union.  A number
of such laws also prohibit mandatory payment of union dues
by non-union workers in order to retain employment (banning
the so-called "agency shop," as well as the "union shop").

Many employers consider states which have "right-to-work"
laws to be advantageous places to locate businesses, since
unions have a much tougher time organizing workers where
they are prohibited from creating "union shop" situations.
Thus, in recent years, many firms have relocated in states
that have such right-to-work laws, which tend to be Sunbelt
states in the South and the West or Midwest.  It is no
accident that most of the fastest growing states in the
U.S. in recent decades, such as Nevada, Florida, and
Arizona, are all "right-to-work" states, and thus very
attractive to industry.

None of the larger, heavily industrialized and unionized
states, such as New York, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Ohio,
California, etc., has a right-to-work law.

@CODE: AL AZ AR FL GA ID IA KS LA MS NB NV NC ND SC SD TN TX UT VA WY
@STATE is one of some 21 states that now have
Right-to-Work laws.
@CODE:EN
@CODE: DC
Washington, D.C. does not have a Right-to-Work law.
@CODE:EN
@CODE: NY MI PA OH CA
@CODE:EN
At present, @STATE does not have a Right-to-Work law.