E&W Blog

Today is the 75th anniversary of the landmark legislation that allowed states to pass right-to-work laws. Because of this legislation, 27 states allow all workers to choose not to join or pay fees to a union. 
 
Unfortunately, the Biden administration and its Big Labor allies put a damper on this momentous anniversary with their campaign to push all workers into unions. The Biden administration’s radical union agenda is a threat to one of our most fundamental freedoms—the right to work.  
 
On the campaign trail, President Biden swore he would be the “most pro-union president” in history. By caving to teachers’ unions on COVID policy and tapping a union activist as Labor Secretary, this is one promise he has certainly fulfilled. 
 
The right to organize is already protected by federal law, but this isn’t good enough for President Biden who continues to push for the so-called Protecting the Right to Organize Act (PRO Act) despite it being widely unpopular.
 
Through his radical White House Task Force on Worker Organization and Empowerment, President Biden is attempting to bypass Congress and implement PRO Act policies. This legislation would outlaw right-to-work laws across the country and force millions of workers to pay unions against their will. The Pro-Union Bosses Act would also remove current safeguards meant to keep union election ballots secret and to protect workers from intimidation and coercion. 
 
Union participation should be voluntary, but the Biden administration wants to take that choice out of the hands of workers. If Democrats have their way, millions of workers will be forced to fork over their hard-earned money to union bosses.
 
In fact, instead of being used on behalf of workers, a large portion of these dues are sent directly to the political campaigns of Democrats and left-wing causes. For example, the American Federation of Teachers sent $49 million to Democrat-aligned organizations throughout 2020-2021, while labor unions spent a staggering $1.8 billion propping up the Left in the 2020 election. An analysis of union spending between 2010 and 2018 found labor unions donated $1.2 million to Planned Parenthood. Workers should never have to choose between losing their job or violating their conscience to fund the Left’s political machine. 
 
With little accountability or transparency, union corruption runs rampant. Just last year, United Auto Workers union bosses were caught scamming workers out of at least $2 million; $80,000 of which union bosses spent on a golf resort in Palm Springs as well as $60,000 at a cigar shop, and thousands more on fancy steak dinners. Despite all of this, Democrats want to increase the power of union bosses exponentially with zero increase in accountability or transparency. This is a recipe for disaster.
 
Now, more than ever, we must push back against the Left’s assault on individual liberty, especially attacks on the right to work.