Case 2 DO RIGHT-TO-WORK LAWS HELP STATES? The year is 1947 and the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives are considering legislation to deal with an unsettled labormanagement situation affecting the U.S. economy. Since the end of World War II, organized labor and employers have experienced a host of problems. Strikes in the oil, automobile, steel, and coal industries have occurred, causing President Harry Truman to call a national labormanagement conference to find a formula for industrial peace. Still, this unsettled labor management situation greatly strengthened opposition to the Wagner Act Congress passed in 1935. Since the passage of the Wagner Act, labor unions had insisted on the legality of the closed shop (which demanded that workers be members of a labor union before obtaining a job). Senator Robert Taft of Ohio and Congressman Fred Hartley of New Jersey argued that the equity between organized labor and management intended by the Wagner Act was out of balance. Together they proposed the Labor Management Relations Act to counter what was perceived as the growing power of labor unions. Organized labor vigorously opposed the legislation and President Truman promised to veto the bill. However, on June 23, 1947, after overriding a presidential veto, the Taft-Hartley Act became law. The concept of reaching a balance between labor and management led to provisions in the bill that dealt with unfair labor practices that applied to unions and management. Practices such as refusing to bargain in good faith, engaging in secondary boycotts, stopping work over jurisdictional or interunion disputes, and charging excessive initiation fees to keep members out of a union were considered unfair labor practices. Special rules that allowed the president to call for a cooling-off period or waiting period were also written into the law for handling controversies or strikes that could threaten national health or safety. The Taft-Hartley Act also made the closed shop illegal. Organized labor denounced the entire Taft-Hartley Act as a slave labor law. However, unions were particularly troubled with Section 14(b) of the legislation. Section 14(b) enabled states to pass rightto-work laws that would permit limitations on union shop and union security agreements. Labor affectionately called the provision right-to-wreck laws and promised to fight such legislation in states where it was proposed. To date, 22 states have passed legislation authorizing the open shop agreement in the workplace. Oklahoma was the last state to pass right-to-work legislation in 2001. A major question thats been debated since passage of the Taft-Hartley Act is, Does passage of right-to-work laws make a difference in a states economy? Former Governor Frank Keating of Oklahoma, who supported the right-to-work legislation in his state, says Oklahoma experienced a blizzard of interest after passage of the right-to-work law. A study by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy in Michigan states, right-to-work laws increase labor productivity by requiring labor unions to earn the support of each worker since workers are able to decide for themselves whether or not to pay dues. Dennis Donovan, a corporate-location consultant in Edison, New Jersey, says that among manufacturers choosing facilities among numerous states, having a right-to-work law is a precondition for about one-third of the companies. Labor unions take an opposite view and claim that workers in right-towork states earn on average less than union employees and work under less worker-friendly conditions. Unions claim the real purpose of right-to-work laws is to roll back the achievements earned by organized labor. This issue promises to be strongly debated in the 21st century

Questions for case 2 1. If given a choice, would you elect to join a labor union or not join? What are the reasons for your decision?

2. With todays protections under the law available to workers, do you believe that unions have outlived their usefulness?

3. Is your home state or the state in which you now live a right-to-work state? How do you feel about economic development and growth in your state? If your state is not a right-to-work state, would you support a right-to-work law if it were put to a popular vote?