Unions Hate Right-To-Work Laws But Taxpayers Should Love Them

Right-to-work laws are suddenly in the spotlight because Wisconsin’s state legislature looks likely to pass one and its governor, Scott Walker, is likely to sign it at a moment when his presidential candidacy is having an early bout of success. The additional focus brought to these laws makes it worth reviewing why unions hate them, why workers love them, and why taxpayers need them.
At a simple level, right-to-work laws accomplish two things for workers. First, a worker cannot be compelled to belong to a union in order to obtain a particular job. Second, workers who do not join a union cannot be compelled to pay “fair share” dues to the union in place of membership dues as compensation for the services that the union provides to all workers (such as collective bargaining).
Unions hate right-to-work laws because they face a classic free-rider problem: each worker’s optimal decision is to not pay union dues while hoping somebody else pays so they can gain any benefits the union secures for all workers. The union still negotiates contracts for all workers, and even defends non-union members in workplace disputes that would fall under their purview if the worker involved was a union member.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffreydorfman/2015/03/04/unions-hate-right-to-work-laws-but-taxpayers-should-love-them/