AFL-CIO boss Richard Trumka says that the right to join a union should be added to the 1964 Civil Rights Act. he says it is just as important as the right to vote.
http://dailycaller.com/2012/03/03/afl-cio-boss-unionizing-should-be-added-to-civil-rights-act-of-1964-video/
I wonder if Trumka believes that the right not to join a union should be added to the Civil Rights Act. I wonder if he believes the right to vote (secretly) whether or not to join a union should be added to the Civil Rights Act.
Trumka is blurring distinct categories, which is not helpful. Just because he was president of my great-grandfather's beloved union doesn't mean he always gets things right.
ReplyDeleteThe right to join a union is an important one, but it is not a CIVIL right of the kind protected by the civil rights act. In general one is not barred from entering a restaurant because one is a union member. Rather, the threat is that an employer might fire an employee who joins a union, and that is barred by the National Labor Relations Act. The NLRA does need to be strengthened - repeal of Taft-Hartley is long overdue.
But if anything were to go into the civil rights law, it would forbid excluding someone from a union on the basis of race or religion, both of which used to happen.
No, there is no need to legally protect the right not to join a union. That is accomplished by simply refraining. There are laws which require payment in kind for the benefits of collective bargaining, IF a majority of fellow workers vote for representation, because one does get the wage increases and improvements in benefits along with everyone else.
Or would you prefer that only union workers get the higher wages, while the non-union workers get minimum wage?