a single-page bill that would end right-to-work laws.
|More than half of U.S. states have right-to-work laws on the books. If a proposed Senate bill passes, they would be erased.
Image courtesy Wikimedia
During a Senate meeting Sept. 20, Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts introduced a bill that would repeal the sections of the 70-year-old Taft-Hartley Act that allow states to enact right-to-work legislation
If passed, no one who benefited from a collective bargaining agreement would be able to avoid paying their share to negotiate and enforce it.
Warren said she introduced the bill to coincide with the fourth round of meetings among Canada, Mexico and U.S. to reshape the North American Free Trade Agreement in early October.
"The country is in the middle of renegotiating NAFTA, which was a bad deal for American workers," Warren said. "If we want to protect workers and expect a level playing field in international trade deals, we need to start at home — and that means banning states from imposing restrictions that prevent workers from joining together to fight for their future."
Sens. Sherrod Brown of Ohio and Kirsten Gillibrand of New York were the first co-sponsors of the “Protecting Workers and Improving Labor Standards Act” and have since been joined by Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire, Jeff Merkley of Oregon, Edward J. Markey of Massachusetts and Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin. The bill also has six co-sponsors in the House.
There are no Republican co-sponsors, and with majorities in both houses of Congress and President Trump in the White House, the bill’s chance of passage is not great.
|Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio was the first of 12 co-sponsors, six in the Senate and six in the House.
photo courtesy AFL-CIO
But, said IBEW Political and Legislative Department Director Austin Keyser, the NAFTA negotiations make it necessary to try.
“The president says he wants to renegotiate NAFTA, at least in part, because cheap labor and lax worker protections in Mexico hurt Americans,” Keyser said. “Our position, and the position of the Canadian government, is that right-to-work laws do the exact same thing to Canadian workers and American workers outside right-to-work states.”
Twenty-seven states have enacted so-called right-to-work legislation. Most states in the South acted as soon as Taft-Hartley was passed in 1947, but five states -- Michigan, Wisconsin, West Virginia, Kentucky and Missouri—have adopted right-to-work laws since 2012.
Despite claims made by corporate lobbyists that push that they improve local economies and create new jobs, right-to-work states have slower growth, lower wages, worse job safety and shorter life expectancies. It’s a boon to some companies and their CEOs, but hurt employers who do right by their workers.
Right-to-work isn’t bad only because it hammers workers’ wallets, Keyser said.
“Joining in union with other people is a right that comes from the Constitution. States shouldn’t have been allowed to limit our rights to free speech and assembly to begin with,” Keyser said. “It is long past time we got rid of laws that not only rig the economy, they take away our freedoms.”
Sheria ya ukurasa mmoja ambayo ingekomesha sheria za haki ya kufanya kazi. Zaidi ya nusu ya majimbo ya Marekani yana sheria za haki ya kufanya kazi. Ikiwa muswada uliopendekezwa wa Seneti unapitishwa, utafutwa. Katika mkutano wa Seneti Septemba 20, Seneta Elizabeth Warren wa Massachusetts aliwasilisha muswada ambao ungeondoa sehemu za Sheria ya Taft-Hartley ya miaka 70 ambayo inaruhusu majimbo kutekeleza sheria ya haki ya kufanya kazi. Warren alisema alitoa muswada huo wakati wa mkutano wa nne kati ya Canada, Mexico na Marekani wa kurekebisha Mkataba wa Biashara Huru ya Amerika Kaskazini (NAFTA) mapema Oktoba. "Nchi iko katikati ya kujadili tena NAFTA, ambayo ilikuwa mpango mbaya kwa wafanyakazi wa Marekani", Warren alisema. """Ikiwa tunataka kulinda wafanyakazi na kutarajia uwanja wa michezo sawa katika mikataba ya biashara ya kimataifa, tunahitaji kuanza nyumbani, na hiyo inamaanisha kupiga marufuku mataifa kutoka kwa kuweka vizuizi vinavyozuia wafanyakazi kuungana pamoja kupigania siku zao za usoni.""" Hisia. "Sherrod Brown wa Ohio na Kirsten Gillibrand wa New York walikuwa wa kwanza kuunga mkono ""Kulinda Wafanyakazi na Kuboresha Viwango vya Kazi"" na tangu wakati huo wamejiunga na Maggie Hassan wa New Hampshire, Jeff Merkley wa Oregon, Edward J. Markey wa Massachusetts na Tammy Baldwin wa Wisconsin." Muswada huo pia una wadhamini sita katika Bunge. Hakuna wafadhili wa Republican, na kwa idadi kubwa katika vyumba vyote viwili vya Bunge na Rais Trump katika Ikulu, nafasi ya muswada huo kupitishwa si kubwa. Sen. Sherrod Brown wa Ohio alikuwa wa kwanza kati ya wasimamizi 12 wa chama hicho, sita katika Baraza la Seneti na sita katika Baraza la Wawakilishi. "Mwanamke huyo, ambaye ni afisa wa idara ya siasa na sheria ya IBEW, Austin Keyser, amesema ""Mjadala wa NAFTA unafanya iwe muhimu kujaribu.""" "Rais anasema anataka kujadili upya NAFTA, angalau kwa sehemu, kwa sababu kazi ya bei nafuu na ulinzi wa wafanyakazi wa lazy nchini Mexico huumiza Wamarekani, "Keyser alisema." "Mtazamo wetu, na msimamo wa serikali ya Canada, ni kwamba sheria za haki ya kufanya kazi hufanya kitu kimoja kwa wafanyakazi wa Canada na wafanyakazi wa Marekani nje ya majimbo ya haki ya kufanya kazi. ""Jimbo la 27 limeanzisha sheria inayoitwa haki ya kufanya kazi." "Mashirika ya kimataifa ya kimataifa ya kimataifa ya kimataifa ya kimataifa ya kimataifa ya kimataifa ya kimataifa ya kimataifa ya kimataifa ya kimataifa ya kimataifa ya kimataifa ya kimataifa ya kimataifa ya kimataifa ya kimataifa ya kimataifa ya kimataifa ya kimataifa ya kimataifa ya kimataifa ya kimataifa ya kimataifa ya kimataifa ya kimataifa ya kimataifa ya kimataifa ya kimataifa ya kimataifa ya kimataifa ya kimataifa ya kimataifa ya kimataifa ya kimataifa ya kimataifa ya kimataifa ya kimataifa ya kimataifa ya kimataifa ya kimataifa ya kimataifa ya kimataifa ya kimataifa ya kimataifa ya kimataifa ya kimataifa ya kimataifa ya kimataifa ya kimataifa ""TAFFHARTLEY"" ""." "Licha ya madai ya wanasheria wa makampuni ya kulazimisha kwamba ""kuongeza uchumi wa ndani na kuunda ajira mpya,"" majimbo ya haki ya kufanya kazi yana ukuaji wa polepole, mishahara ya chini, usalama mbaya wa kazi na matarajio ya maisha mafupi." Ni neema kwa baadhi ya makampuni na Mkurugenzi Mtendaji wao, lakini kuumiza waajiri ambao kufanya haki na wafanyakazi wao. Haki ya kufanya kazi si mbaya tu kwa sababu inashambulia mkoba wa wafanyakazi, Keyser alisema. <unk>Kujiunga katika muungano na watu wengine ni haki inayotokana na Katiba. Mataifa hayangeruhusiwa kupunguza haki zetu za uhuru wa kujieleza na kukusanyika, Keyser alisema. "Ni wakati wa muda mrefu uliopita tuliondoka sheria ambazo si tu rig uchumi, wao kuchukua mbali uhuru wetu".