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With Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker signing the Right-To-Work bill into law, the country is now officially split in half over the 1947 Taft-Hartley amendments to the National Labor Relations Act. The last time a Right-to-Work Bill was passed was in 2012 in both Indiana and Michigan, but other states are in talks of passing similar bills. One such initiative sparked protests of over 6,000 people in Charleston, West Virginia. While intended to encourage collective bargaining, the NLRA allows for states to pass right-to-work laws which are not exactly what they sound to be. These laws have nothing to do with the right to employment, but instead, prohibit employers and unions from instating contracts that require the payment of union dues or union membership.
Many see these Right-To-Work laws as providing a free-ride on jobs that were bargained for and negotiated by unions in order to benefit the workers. There is further concern that they will lead to further initiates to drive down wages by eliminating prevailing wage and Project Labor Agreements, which many workers rely on to provide for their families.
For an excellent, more in-depth article on the situation, click HERE