Republican South Carolina Rep. Joe Wilson reintroduced the National Right to Work Act (NRTWA) on Monday to prevent private-sector workers from being required to pay dues to unions they do not support.
The NRTWA allows individual workers to choose whether to join workplace labor organizations or refrain from such activities. It would amend sections of the National Labor Relations Act of 1935 (NLRA) by eliminating portions of the NLRA restricting workers’ ability to refrain from labor organizations when membership is required to gain employment. (RELATED: Democratic Rep. Elissa Slotkin Announces Senate Run To Replace Long-Time Senator)
U.S. Congressman #JoeWilson (R-S.C.) and National Right to Work Committee President Mark Mix host a press conference at 3:30 p.m. ET on Feb. 27 to reintroduce the National Right to #WorkAct.
Watch the livestream here: https://t.co/DpNGzSbuMi
— NTD News (@NTDNews) February 27, 2023
“Every American and their employer should have the power to negotiate the terms of their employment, and no American should be forced to pay union dues or ‘fees’ just to get or keep a job,” Congressman Wilson said.
“South Carolina is a right to work state, and we have seen tremendous economic growth by expanding economic freedom for our businesses. We must continue to work towards promoting job creation and ending automatic unionism for the American people. 80% of people in our country support putting an end to dues as a condition of employment. I am grateful to stand alongside my colleagues to offer protections for workers and their employers,” he continued.
States with right to work laws have seen larger private sector and household consumption growth than states without them, according to data from 2011-21 by the National Institute for Labor Relations Research.
Labor unions such as the AFL-CIO believe right to work legislation undermines unions by banning “union-security” agreements requiring workers who are non-union members to pay fees equivalent to union dues to maintain employment.
“Union bosses should not have the power to take money out of workers’ paychecks without their consent, yet in the 23 states that lack a Right to Work law, they can do just that,” National Right to Work Committee President Mark Mix told the Daily Caller.
“The National Right to Work Act solves this injustice without adding a single word to federal law by simply removing the provisions in the law that authorize forced union dues. We are pleased that Representative Wilson has introduced this bill, which will protect all Americans from forced union dues.”
The Supreme Court ruled in 2018 that an Illinois law mandating non-union public sector employees pay union fees violated workers rights under the First Amendment. Rep. Wilson’s legislation would expand right to work to private-sector firms nationwide.
“As we near the fifth anniversary of the Janus v. AFSCME Supreme Court decision this June, which clarified the constitutional rights of all public-sector workers in America to refrain from joining or paying a union as a condition of employment, it’s time to expand worker choice to all private-sector workers in America, too,” Austen Bannan, senior policy analyst at Americans for Prosperity, told the Daily Caller.
“Workers in the 28 current Right to Work states enjoy greater accountability not only over their paychecks but also their union representation.”
FULL BILL HERE: