IAM International President Robert Martinez Jr. wrote a letter to members of Congress urging them to cosponsor the National Right to Unionize Act being introduced by U.S. Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.) and U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts). Sherman has previously introduced this legislation in the last seven Congresses.
The letter supports the legislation that would ban so-called right-to-work laws that harm workers and suppress wages. Studies have concluded that employees in states with these anti-labor laws average about $11,059 a year less than workers in labor rights states.
“We need your support to help reverse the negative impacts of state’s right-to-work laws,” IAM International President Robert Martinez Jr. wrote in the letter.
Right-to-Work laws make it almost impossible to maintain a union. They force labor representatives to provide benefits to free riders who avoid paying their fair share. This legislation would eliminate the provision of the Taft-Hartley Act which allows so-called “Right-to-Work” laws.
“With the introduction of legislation banning so-called ‘Right-to-Work’ laws, Congressman Sherman has once again demonstrated his strong commitment to working families.,” the late AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said of the bill. “‘Right-to-Work’ laws undermine the economy and weaken workers’ ability to bargain for better working conditions, which translates into lower pay and fewer benefits for everyone.”
“So-called “Right-to-Work” laws are designed to make it difficult to organize a union,” said Sherman. “This impacts not only workers who want a union — but general wage levels throughout the state. In an ill-conceived effort to attract business, one state after another has adopted these anti-union laws in a race to the bottom. That is why I’ve introduced the National Right to Unionize Act in every session of Congress since 2008. And, it is why Senator Warren’s years of effort to pass this legislation in the Senate are so important.”
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