Unions have outlived their usefulness. The only things unions do are keep people working that should be fired and spend dues money on bosses and Democratic candidates. Right to work legislation will ensure that you don't have to participate in the electoral process against your wishes.
For the more delicate readers of the blog please skip this next sentence. The above statements are total bullshit and used to put you into what corporations believe is your rightful place living at or near poverty wages! This is one of the largest scams perpetrated on the working men and women of this country I have ever seen. How and why can I say this?
I have been a union "boss" and run a Local, been in negotiations and sat in discipline hearings for a combined 13 years in two different organizations. The people pushing right to work know something you may not; a majority of your dues money goes into servicing and negotiating contracts and running the business of the union. Anyone who's considered becoming an objector knows this as well. Percentages vary but in my experience more than 90% of dues money goes for this purpose. So what does right to work really do then?
Let's look at the current negotiations at United for the mechanics only. There are about 35 participants from the union, 14 rank and file that make up the negotiating committee, 14 Local Business Agents sitting in to assist the rank and file, and 5 International Representatives (Including one full time attorney) to also assist the rank and file committee. There are also two economists, a team of actuaries and several health care experts. Some of this last group are from the IBT and some are outside consultants. None of these people come cheap. I'm guessing we will spend several hundred thousand dollars negotiating this amalgamated agreement. Should the union spend this kind of money on negotiations? I don't have to answer that, you know negotiating with a multi billion dollar corporation costs money and if you don't come big you get steamrolled.
Now what if the union didn't have that revenue coming in to pay for these services? Well the answer is we'd most assuredly get steamrolled. We would still get representation but as anyone who's ever made a deal, including buying a car or a house knows, money talks. Take that money away and you have less opposition at the bargaining table. This is the crux of the issue. Cripple the union + cripple the worker = padding the pockets of the CEO's and other corporate officers as well as higher returns for investors. So all this melodrama about dues money going to the election process is nothing more than sleight of hand to get you to believe the union is the enemy while they brazenly reach in to your wallet and steal money you should be earning.
Because of the Railway Labor Act right to work would need to become national legislation to change airline contracts. But don't kid yourself when these thieving bastards get the right mix in congress it will hit us as well. If you're in Michigan and you get an opportunity to stand with the protesters I would suggest you do. This attack on them hurts us all!
