A recent online survey asked, “should employees have the right to decide, without force or penalty, whether to join or leave a labor union?”
Nearly 83 percent of New York respondents said yes, they should.
That’s a telling figure — especially in the nation’s most unionized state.
Of course, the real question is not whether a worker is forced to join a union, but whether he or she is forced to pay union dues (in the form of an “agency fee”) as a condition of employment. In 24 right-to-work states, the answer is no. In states like New York, the answer is yes: even if you don’t want to be part of a union, you have to kick into its coffers.
The survey was conducted by Google Consumer Surveys and sponsored by National Employee Freedom Week, a non-profit coalition whose position on right to work shouldn’t be hard to guess.
The same 83 percent of respondents nationally agree that employees should have the right to decide whether to join or leave a labor union, according to the brief internet survey. Additionally, the survey found that among those union members polled, 71 percent would not opt out of their labor union if they could — not the armageddon some would describe in the context of offering employees a choice. Again, of course, the key question is dues – i.e., that fee.
A shift seems to be developing towards choice (not to be confused with anti-unionism) when it comes to union membership. Take for example the Supreme Court’s recent ruling in Harris v. Quinn, which wasn’t without consequence for New York. Or, the 2012 move from Michigan making it the nation’s 24th right-to-work state.
About the Author
You may also like
Pols Craft More Handouts for Sinking Construction Unions
New York’s construction unions, facing a decades-long decline, are employing a time-honored tactic: getting state government to stop people from competing with them. Read More
Union Rallies Long Island Pols Against NYC Kids
New York’s statewide teachers union has been cashing in political chits as it seeks to block new charter schools from opening in New York City, asking the senators and assemblymembers Read More
Utility board turns into union tool
The idea that the PSC would artificially drive electricity costs higher to benefit a political constituency represents a new low. Read More
New Docs Raise Big Questions About NY’s Megafab Mega-Deal
The Hochul Administration published a pair of documents concerning the Micron Megafab deal that raise more questions than they answer. Read More
City union scandal isn’t NY’s first
One of New York City’s largest public-sector unions has been effectively taken over by its national parent after an audit revealed extensive financial mismanagement. It’s the latest example of misconduct made possible under New York’s public-sector collective bargaining rules that force the government to collect hundreds of millions of dollars annually without any safeguards on how the funds are spent. Read More
Firefighter-rights bill torches local control
Two of Albany’s most-vetoed concepts are headed toward Governor Hochul’s desk, this time concealed as a “firefighter bill of rights.” Read More
Still-Unreleased Union Deal Rains Cash on State Workers
The still-unreleased deal between the Hochul Administration and the Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA), state government’s largest group of unionized workers, would award bonuses, backpay, and guaranteed raises the next three years, documents sent to union members show. Read More
Thanks to Unions, NYC’s School Reopening Deal Was Costly and Educationally Hazardous
New York City schools reopened this fall under terms dictated by the city's teacher and principal unions. Now, as city schools close -- once more at the unions' behest -- the city is left with thousands of extra teachers hi Read More