During the recent debate on the farm bill, the Senate voted down an amendment that would allow unionized employers to give workers raises based on merit. The amendment, called the Rewarding Achievement and Incentivizing Successful Employees Act, eliminates the federally mandated ceiling on the union wages for nearly 8 million workers.

Currently, union workers’ wages are set by collective bargaining agreements made between a union and an employer. These agreements create not only a floor for wages, but also a ceiling. Pay increases are based on seniority, not merit. In other words, unionized employees can only see an increase in their salary through seniority, no matter how productive or hard-working they are. The RAISE Act would allow employers to give individual workers pay increases without going through a union.