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A union negotiates a contract with an employer. The employer freely enters that contract, and by signing that contract is giving the written intention of follow

A union negotiates a contract with an employer. The employer freely enters that contract, and by signing that contract is giving the written intention of following through with that contract. That contract is mutually beneficial. As employer, you are provided with a pool of selected professionals. As a worker, you are provided with fairer compensation and benefits. Right to work comes in and says those contracts do not have to be honored by the employer and they can break that contract because the law says so. Anyone they employ now enjoys the benefits of that the union spent time and money on negotiating, but the worker does not have to pay dues to enjoy that privilege. Without the union, those privileges wouldn't exist. Any "rational actor" can see that the rational decision is to enjoy the benefits a union brings to the table, without having to pay dues. The counter to this is the argument of freedom of association, saying employers can hire who they want. This sidesteps the fact that employers made the free decision to entire such contracts and chose to stand by its stipulations. Unions do not hold a monopoly on workers. Workers are free to entire and exit contracts with unions or negotiate on their lonesome. Employers have a variety of unions and individuals to pick their employees from.

topkai22 12y ago
Yeah, I'm not a lawyer, but I'm pretty sure this is totally wrong under US law. According Wikipedia, in the U.S., once a union is certified at an employer that union is the only entity that can "negotiate conditions of employment." That means that employees are at best highly restricted in their ability to negotiate individually with a unionized employer.
- task_queue 12y ago
  It depends on the union. Some allow for up negotiation and others have a scale which you can negotiate from. But bonuses and supplementary pay are up to negotiate for.
- tjl 12y ago
  Do you actually believe that someone like Julia Roberts or Tom Cruise is going to have the Screen Actors Guild negotiate their salary? No, SAG just sets a scale and people can be paid more than scale. The same goes for the various sports leagues where all the players are members of an a players' association of some sort. This sort of arrangement could very well work for developers.

topkai22 12y ago

Yeah, I'm not a lawyer, but I'm pretty sure this is totally wrong under US law. According Wikipedia, in the U.S., once a union is certified at an employer that union is the only entity that can "negotiate conditions of employment." That means that employees are at best highly restricted in their ability to negotiate individually with a unionized employer.

task_queue 12y ago
It depends on the union. Some allow for up negotiation and others have a scale which you can negotiate from. But bonuses and supplementary pay are up to negotiate for.
tjl 12y ago
Do you actually believe that someone like Julia Roberts or Tom Cruise is going to have the Screen Actors Guild negotiate their salary? No, SAG just sets a scale and people can be paid more than scale. The same goes for the various sports leagues where all the players are members of an a players' association of some sort. This sort of arrangement could very well work for developers.