Michigan’s Republican Lieutenant Governor Brian Calley has taken to Twitter to defend his administration’s push for an anti-union “Right To Work” law which would allow workers to be represented by unions without having to pay union dues.
Here’s one weak defense Calley offered for enacting “Right To Work.” He said that he isn’t required to donate to any church he attends, so workers should be able to represented by unions in the workplace without being asked to pay dues:
Calley’s analogy widely misses the mark. Unions represent workers at their workplace and need dues to be able to do that. Almost all people have to work to be able to provide for their families, and representation in the workplace is explicitly part of a democratic society.
Unlike the workplace, religious worship Ai??is a fundamentally private and voluntary activity and is not subject to the same government oversight (and for good reason).
If Calley wants to invoke the church, he should listen to one of its most famous men, the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Here’s what he had to say about “right to work”:
ai???In our glorious fight for civil rights, we must guard against being fooled by false slogans, such as ai???right to work.ai??i?? It is a law to rob us of our civil rights and job rights.
Its purpose is to destroy labor unions and the freedom of collective bargaining by which unions have improved wages and working conditions of everyoneai??i??Wherever these laws have been passed, wages are lower, job opportunities are fewer and there are no civil rights. We do not intend to let them do this to us. We demand this fraud be stopped. Our weapon is our vote.ai???
Thousands of Michiganders are expected to converge on the capitol today to protest against the so-called “Right To Work” bill. We’ll keep you updated.
Politicians are claiming the “right to work” laws are making it more attractive for businesses to locate in their states. Which businesses? Ones like Walmart, whose vast majority of employees are paid so little that they fall under the poverty level and qualify for food stamps; are not provided medical insurance and are forced to utilize emergency rooms for acute care…which taxpayers end up having to pay in higher medical costs for all? The “right to work” laws are meant to crash wages, further erode or eradicate reasonable benefits for employees to care for themselves and their families. When will corporate America ever be satisfied with their level of profits? On the day that the vast majority of Americans are living like the vast majority of Chinese…with 18 hour work days, very low pay and living in “company barracks”/buying from the “company store”, with absolutely no quality of life or hope for the future, perhaps?