Posts tagged free-rider
Commentary: How to end the ‘free rider’ problem with union representation
July 21, 2025 // It’s a fair compromise that empowers workers by giving them more choices. They can still join in collective bargaining with their fellow workers if they want or go it on their own if they think they can do better. It may prove to be beneficial to unions as well. It will prod them to become more customer-oriented towards their members, rather than taking them for granted. A union won’t have the drain of providing for non-members. Unions that can prove they’re doing well by their members will have a solid recruitment message.
Op-Ed: Bye Bye Right to Work?
August 25, 2024 // We believe the labor laws should be rewritten in such a way that nonunion workers are exempt from collective bargaining agreements and only dues-paying union members would be covered by union contracts. This would solve the free-rider problem that union officials justifiably complain about – and everyone’s freedom to choose is protected.
Commentary: ‘Worker’s Choice’ Is the Way Forward
December 13, 2023 // Employees trapped in union contracts need true freedom in the workplace, or what advocates have long called “worker’s choice.” That’s why on Wednesday, Rep. Burlison will introduce The Worker’s Choice Act of 2023. It would give workers a real alternative to union membership. Under this reform, employees at unionized companies could still become union members with union contracts. But if they opt out of union membership, they would negotiate contracts directly with their employers, as workers at nonunion companies do. The legislation wouldn’t affect non-right-to-work states, where workers are still required to pay union fees. It also wouldn’t apply to railroad and airline employees, who are required by federal law to pay union fees, or to government employees, who would qualify for worker’s choice only via state law. Every worker would win under this policy. Those opting out of union membership could negotiate the contract that’s best for them.
Report disputes role of federal government in labor union participation, reveals forgotten purpose of the National Labor Relations Act
August 2, 2023 // The legislation is always opposed because, contrary to their rhetoric, unions and their allies don’t trust that workers will voluntarily make those payments. If given the chance to keep all of the money they earn, many workers will take that deal, effectively starving the union of revenue. The progressive nonprofit Center for Media and Democracy said that the version drafted for states would make it “very difficult for public employee unions to raise funds for political activities. It would significantly impact public employee unions like teacher’s unions and the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), whose expenditures primarily benefit Democrats.”
Public-Sector Union Membership Down 10 Percent Since Janus
June 20, 2023 // Maxford Nelson of the Freedom Foundation, a conservative union-watchdog group, has crunched the numbers and found that 733,745 workers have left the four largest public-sector unions since the Janus decision, which is a decline of about 10 percent. Those four are the National Education Association (NEA), American Federation of Teachers (AFT), American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), and Service Employees International Union (SEIU).
Know your Janus rights: Government employees still can’t be forced to pay unions in Michigan
March 31, 2023 // “Passing bills that are currently unconstitutional can mislead employees into believing that the law has changed and that they must now pay a union,” said Steve Delie, director of labor policy at Mackinac Center for Public Policy. “Public sector employees across the country have a First Amendment right to not pay a union thanks to the U.S. Supreme Court’s Janus v. AFSCME decision. Repealing right-to-work does nothing for public sector employees except cause confusion.”
The ‘freeloader’ myth in the right-to-work debate
March 22, 2023 // House Bill 4233 would remove the prohibition against labor unions assisting in collecting dues from public school employees. House Bill 4235 would make union dues tax refundable. Michigan taxpayers would be on the hook for their neighbors’ union dues. House Bill 4240 would prohibit an employer from looking into a job applicant’s credit score. Senate Bill 5 would require an agency fee for nonunion members. Senate Bill 142 would require written job descriptions at firms with more than five employees. Why would lawmakers leave a glaring problem unaddressed?