People from Right-To-Work (for less) States: What's it like?

[Proud Liberal Dem]

Coming from Indiana, where RTW just got approved by our Republican-controlled House and Senate and is set for final passage, I'm just curious what we Hoosiers might expect? Republicans here are "excited" by its passage. Are we Democrats, Unions, et al. just being killjoys and purposely missing out on some kind of "excitement"? Should we be rejoicing? Dancing in the streets?

[Lochloosa]

1. Florida here....3 Layoffs and a 38% cut in pay over the last 5 years.....enjoy

[MattBaggins]

15. 38%? That is just wrong

How do you feel about the owners and big wigs all still seeing rising incomes all the while pointing the finger at you as the source of this Country's woes?

[Stinky The Clown]

2. It is an employers' paradise

Workers, not so much.

What it means is unions get fucked. If unions get fucked, workers get fucker.

Every time there is a fucking, there is a fucker and a fuckee.

Workers will be the biggest fuckees.

[Avalux]

3. Every man for himself. No recourse if let go from a job; no reason needed.

Employers do what the want, workers are commodities and unions can go fuck themselves.

[RKP5637]

4. Further evidence that most republicans are not the sharpest tools in the tool shed, but that

an elitist group of republicans are the sharpest of the republicans, and they make big bucks off of the stooges. Why middle of the road republicans rejoice at less civil liberties, poorer paying jobs, less freedom and all the rest is really beyond me to understand anymore. It's a disease.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

16. It just means more "freedom" of course

freedom to get less wages, benefits, and protections- you know because we Americans ask for (and have always been getting) way more than what we deserve.

[otohara]

5. I Sued Clear Channel

and all I heard from the (D) appointed magistrate was how CO was a right-to-work state and judges/juries usually side with business, blah, blah, blah....very disheartening. I settled, but in hindsight I don't know if it was worth the hassle - well...except for the fact that the guy who fired me was unable to get a decent job in radio again.

[ipfilter]

6. So much mis-information surrounding Right-To-Work

Many confuse it for "At Will" employment. Right-To-Work laws simply forbid unions from forcing members to pay union dues. That's the one and only thing these laws do. The intent behind the law is to weaken unions financially. In theory, workers would soon stop paying compulsory dues and the union would lose financial power. In practice this really isn't that big of a deal since most workers in a union shop gladly pay their dues.

A few years ago my state, Oklahoma, enacted Right-To-Work via a referendum. Then Governor Frank Keating proudly proclaimed on the night of the vote that "Oklahoma is now in business". Well, a few years later nothing has really changed. I still gladly pay dues to my union and Oklahoma is still more or less a backwards ass state with low wages and 3.2% beer.

Most Right-To-Work laws don't contain as many words in them as this post.

Edit to add: The term Right-To-Work means that a worker has the "right to work" in a closed union shop without paying dues. The laws makes it legal to work in a union shop without paying dues and still receive all the benefits under a Collective Bargaining Agreement. In other words, it makes it legal to work as a scab.

[GoCubsGo]

10. In other words, it's more appropriately "Right to Work for Less".

I worked in such a state for 20 years. I didn't realize how awful it was until I got laid off from the state's university system. I'm not going to go into the shitty treatment we received, other than to say that it drove one of the HR people they sent to deal with the situation to quit in disgust. However, I will point out that the comparable jobs for which I have applied in non-right-to-work-for-less states pay at least 20% more, and workers pay far less for their health insurance premiums.

BTW, there's a lot more to it than not having to pay union dues. Such laws leave workers vulnerable to the whims of their employers. In a Right-to-Work-for-Less state, all the employer has to do is warn you at the start about the hazards of your job. If you get injured on the job, it's "Tough shit. We warned you. If you get hurt, it's your own fault, so forget about suing us."

[ipfilter]

11. They don't have anything to do with any of that.

Read the laws for yourself.

www.righttowork.org

WARNING: This is a pro RTW website and I don't agree with their agenda, but they do show the actual legislation for every state.

This is the actual law that was passed in Oklahoma. All of them are very similar.


Okla. Const. art. 23, § 1A provides:

A. As used in this section, "labor organization" means any organization of any kind, or agency or employee representation committee or union, that exists for the purpose, in whole or in part, of dealing with employers concerning wages, rates of pay, hours of work, other conditions of employment, or other forms of compensation.

B. No person shall be required, as a condition of employment or continuation of employment, to:

1. Resign or refrain from voluntary membership in, voluntary affiliation with, or voluntary financial support of a labor organization;

2. Become or remain a member of a labor organization;

3. Pay any dues, fees, assessments, or other charges of any kind or amount to a labor organization;

4. Pay to any charity or other third party, in lieu of such payments, any amount equivalent to or pro rata portion of dues, fees, assessments, or other charges regularly required of members of a labor organization; or

5. Be recommended, approved, referred, or cleared by or through a labor organization.

C. It shall be unlawful to deduct from the wages, earnings, or compensation of an employee any union dues, fees, assessments, or other charges to be held for, transferred to, or paid over to a labor organization unless the employee has first authorized such deduction.

D. The provisions of this section shall apply to all employment contracts entered into after the effective date of this section and shall apply to any renewal or extension of any existing contract.

E. Any person who directly or indirectly violates any provision of this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.

[GoCubsGo]

13. I have read the laws.

I don't live in Oklahoma. Their laws do not pertain to my state.

[dmosh42]

7. You might want to forget about any retirement with a pension....

I retired from a NE state, union job, and lived in Florida for twelve years. Naturally I had plent of other retirees nearby, and they were from all the industrial states mainly, and most union jobs. The only retirees I met from the "right-to -work" states were either execs of corporations or owned their own business. When they do retire, it's only with Soc. Sec., and you're not going anywhere based on that.

[kctim]

8. What's it like?

I have worked in both, Missouri and Kansas, and I don't see a difference. I live in Missouri and work in Kansas and am treated just as good as I was when I worked in Missouri. Both states have unions and I have been offered jobs in union shops from both states, but choose not to be union. I am pro-choice so I like having that choice.

[tammywammy]

9. There's a difference between 'right to work' and 'at will'

There's no union for the administrative job I do and I'm paid pretty well for what I do. I live in Texas and there are still unions. There's a union over the manufacturing shop where I work. I live down the road from GM factory - it's represented by the UAW.

[rainbow4321]

12. Basically, if they don't like the color of your eyes, they get to fire you

No ands, ifs, or buts.

I live in right-to-work TX and workers have no rights. Employers make it quite clear...we can fire you in a heart beat and you will have no one to turn to.

I hate to sound so pessimistic but that is what it comes down to.

on edit: I know the above description is more a "at will" definition, but with so very few unions down here it is impossible to have any protection as a worker.

Even the local (federal) health care facility that HAS a union does nothing for the crummy staffing/patient ratio, at least in other states you hear about healthcare unions fighting for safe staffing.

[stevenleser]

14. These laws should be called "The right of the 1% to emasculate your union and fire you" laws

These are horrible pieces of legislation. Every single one of them.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

17. Thanks everybody for your responses

It sucks to see the state you live in to not only NOT move forward but actually move backwards.

[ecstatic]

18. Depends on education level and industry, IMO

The less education, the worse the job, the more the need to organize. I think medical professionals may be the exception though. You will probably be treated better in non-right to work states as a medical professional, especially if you're a nurse. These are just my observations.