The so-called "right-to-work" act, L.D. 309, is bad news for all Maine workers. It aims to muzzle labor, not union workers alone. It strikes at the heart our right to organize, bargain collectively, have safe workplaces and a decent standard of living for our families.
Unions matter. Objectively, unions reduce income inequality and produce tangible gains for worker's wages, benefits, and working conditions. Unions matter to organized labor and non-union workers alike. Non-union workers benefit when their employers raise wages to compete with unionized companies for talented and productive workers. By improving the wages and conditions of work, anti-union employers try to prevent unions in their own company.
While many workers struggle with low wages and take significant financial and physical risks at work, by forming unions they have earned a measure of dignity in their relationships with their employers, supervisors, and co-workers. Individual workers are powerless in employer-employee relationships. History tells us that an imbalance in this relationship leads to abuse of authority.
L.D. 309 aims to undermine unions. The idea is to subordinate workers, without recourse, to a harsh and degrading market discipline, a set of rules from which businesses and business leaders often seek exemption. If passed, L.D. 309, would be a tragedy for Maine workers and their families. It would represent a betrayal of work by eroding the wages and conditions of employment. Union and non-union workers would lose.
Source
The rate of union membership in the U.S. fell to a record low in 2011 for a second-straight year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The total union membership rate - reflecting both public and private-sector workers - was 11.8 percent
Unions matter. Objectively, unions reduce income inequality and produce tangible gains for worker's wages, benefits, and working conditions. Unions matter to organized labor and non-union workers alike. Non-union workers benefit when their employers raise wages to compete with unionized companies for talented and productive workers. By improving the wages and conditions of work, anti-union employers try to prevent unions in their own company.
While many workers struggle with low wages and take significant financial and physical risks at work, by forming unions they have earned a measure of dignity in their relationships with their employers, supervisors, and co-workers. Individual workers are powerless in employer-employee relationships. History tells us that an imbalance in this relationship leads to abuse of authority.
L.D. 309 aims to undermine unions. The idea is to subordinate workers, without recourse, to a harsh and degrading market discipline, a set of rules from which businesses and business leaders often seek exemption. If passed, L.D. 309, would be a tragedy for Maine workers and their families. It would represent a betrayal of work by eroding the wages and conditions of employment. Union and non-union workers would lose.
Source
The rate of union membership in the U.S. fell to a record low in 2011 for a second-straight year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The total union membership rate - reflecting both public and private-sector workers - was 11.8 percent
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