When Congress approved the National Labor Relations Act (aka the Wagner Act) in 1935, it reformed and updated federal labor law to reflect the harsh realities of the American workplace at the mid-point of the Great Depression. Thanks to the Wagner Act, the labor movement was so strengthened that when union membership in the private sector of the economy reached its apogee in 1953, great industries like steel, railroads, autos and mining were dominated by Big Labor. But even then, barely more than a third of all private sector workers were union members. By the time the 21st century dawned, fewer than 10 percent of private sector workers belonged to unions. It’s been a different story in the public sector, which has been fertile ground for powerhouse unions, including the American Federation of Government Employees, National Education Association and American Federation of Teachers, and American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. Today, these Big Labor giants represent nearly 40 percent of all public employees and make up more than half of all unionized workers in the country. Being unionized puts these public employees in adversarial relationships with the taxpayers who fund their paychecks.
Only 23 states have right-to-work laws that protect workers who choose not to join unions, and federal employees are not even covered by these laws. The result is effectively a union shop for most public workplaces. But before unions win over a majority of government workers, Congress should quickly pass new legislation to update federal labor laws and regulations, much as the Wagner Act did in 1935. Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, and Rep. Tim Scott, R-S.C., have introduced just such a bill, the Employee Rights Act of 2012.
The Hatch-Scott ERA is based on seven key principles, each of which is supported by at least 70 percent of union households:
• Employees should have the right to a federally supervised secret ballot election when deciding whether to join a union.
• Employees should have the right to a secret ballot election every three years to determine whether they want to remain represented by a union.
• Employees should have the right to petition the federal government at any time to conduct an election to get rid of a union without the fear of facing penalties or fees levied by the union.
• Employees should have the right to require unions to get their approval before dues money is spent on behalf of political parties or political candidates.
• Employees should have the right to a secret ballot vote to approve or reject a union’s call for a strike.
• Employees should be protected from violence, coercion, intimidation and threats from union leaders attempting to unionize employees.
• Employees should have the right to a minimum of 40 days to hear both management and organizers lay out the pros and cons of joining a union before any election.
Even bigger majorities of non-union households support these seven principles, with approval ratings for some as high as 91 percent and none lower than 78 percent, according to Opinion Research Corp. International, which surveyed more than 3,000 adults in 2011. Clearly, the public is ready for a long overdue reform of labor law.
