Undermining Right to Work

Democrats are working to push federal legislation that would override right to work laws across the country.

Democrats have introduced a pair of bills that would help to impose coercive unionism on public sector workers. The legislation is ostensibly about promoting federal collective bargaining, but in practice each would overrule right-to-work laws in states across the nation. The Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act (H.R.1154) would require all levels of government to collectively bargain with public safety employees. A reintroduced version of the Public Service Freedom to Negotiate Act would create a right to unionize for all public-sector employees.

The Democrat-led Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions examined both bills at a hearing Wednesday. Rep. Andy Levin (D., Mich.) said that collective bargaining should be considered a fundamental human right and painted right to work laws as out-of-step with other developed nations.

"The United States is not in compliance with international norms," Levin said. He added that there is a "unique anti-unionism" in the U.S., which he says the two proposed bills aim to fix.

The Republicans in the subcommittee, led by ranking member Rep. Tim Walberg (R., Minn.), argued that the proposed bills are not about human rights, but rather a limitation on personal liberty.