Right to Work Around the Union

Tuesday’s trip to Lansing was eerily familiar, even though I had never been to Michigan’s state capitol. I stood on the Capitol lawn, bundled up in my heavy winter coat, with feet warmers in my boots. I carried signs and chanted “union busting is disgusting.” I listened to impassioned speakers, who were voicing the concerns of the thousands of people who gathered there, regarding the impact Right to Work for Less would have on their wages and working conditions.

It was scary how Tuesday’s scene took me back to Columbus in early 2011, when we were shut out of the capitol building, and Senate Bill 5 was rammed through the legislature, despite the tearful, sincere and impassioned pleas of hard-working, middle class Ohioans.

At times throughout the day, I felt thankful that my school and home are five miles south of the Michigan-Ohio border. I felt thankful that we were victorious in our fight against SB5.

As I drove home with my friend/labor consultant, Susan, I realized that we are not out of the woods in Ohio. Ohio’s current legislature already tried to silence workers through SB5, which makes it clear that part of their agenda includes breaking unions. Governor Kasich says he’s not interested in Right to Work, but that’s what Governor Snyder said too. A group, “Ohioans for Workplace Freedom” has circulated petitions to put “Right to Work” on the ballot in Ohio this November.

If “Right to Work” is enacted in Ohio, the profession that I love will be changed forever.

“Right to Work” is the most deceptive name possible for legislation that takes away the rights and benefits of employees. It’s like passing legislation that would allow school cafeterias to serve dog food, and calling it “Right to Eat.”

“Right to Work” sounds innocuous and sensible, but it is the farthest thing from that. If “Right to Work” was a product on a grocery shelf, and it was sold with the message that its supporters use, it would have to be pulled for false advertising. Saying that the amendment would give Ohioans “…a choice in whether or not they join a labor union and pay dues or fees at their place of work as a condition of employment,” grossly understates the impact and consequences of this type of legislation.

Proponents of “right to work” claim it merely allows for free choice of employment, “to just and favorable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment” (Universal Declaration of Human Rights). Ironically, that’s what unions do; promote the right to work under fair conditions, without the threat of retaliation, like getting fired for standing up for yourself and your colleagues.

Workers already have the choice to join the union or not. It’s called “Fair Share.” Fair share is exactly what it sounds like. If you don’t want to join the union, but would like to reap the benefits of union negotiations of wages and benefits, you can pay a reduced rate, called. That’s fair, and that’s “Fair Share.”

“Right to Work Around the Union,” as Jon Stewart calls it, has so many ramifications beyond joining or not joining the union. Just put it next to Senate Bill 5, something that Ohioans are familiar with, to understand the huge implications. If SB5 and Right to Work were dogs, SB5 would the neighbor’s annoying poodle that barks in the middle of the night and wakes you up. Right to Work is a pit bull. Senate Bill 5 is “Right to Work Lite.” Although the provisions of the two pieces of legislation use different wording and different restrictions, they both serve to weaken unions and the ability for workers to collectively bargain.

By the way, Senate Bill 5 was defeated by a margin of 61% to 39%. Many who voted against it said they did so because the legislation was “too far reaching.” Right to Work reaches even farther, so, it would seem Right to Work is something that Ohioans wouldn’t want and would defeat even more soundly than SB5. However, in a February Quinnipiac poll, Ohio voters said they supported Right to Work Laws by a margin of 54 to 40 percent. This shows me that it’s going to take a great deal of effort to educate Ohioans about all that is wrong about Right to Work.

Thankfully, I have never worked in a “Right to Work” state, but I know many teachers who have worked in public schools there, and none of them have anything positive to say about their experiences. They have explained that, although they can join unions, in states like Florida and Texas, the unions have little clout. Local school districts do not have to negotiate with teachers. They can simply implement board policy. The due process, which insures teachers will not arbitrarily lose their jobs, is not guaranteed. Teachers don’t protest unfair working conditions, for fear they will lose their jobs. There are no strikes, because half the teachers aren’t in the union, so organizing is difficult.

When people call the legislation “Right to Work for Less,” it’s not just a play on words. At charter schools in Ohio, which operate without teacher unions and collective bargaining, teachers make $16,000 less, on average, than their public school counterparts. My friend’s husband, who teaches at a public school in Florida, makes $20,000 a year less than he would in my school district with the same education and experience level.

The teacher in Florida I mentioned is planning to leave the classroom this year, after 10 years of teaching, because he doesn’t enjoy what he is doing and the conditions under which he works. It’s not hard to imagine many teachers in Ohio doing the same thing, should we become a RTW state. The teachers and their students lose out on the wealth of knowledge these veterans could bring to the classroom.

With 2013 on the horizon, I’m thinking about my hopes for the new year. Chief among them is my hope that the attacks on middle class, working families ends, and that harmful legislation, like Right to Work, is not implemented in Ohio.

By Dan Greenberg, Sylvania Education Association

We need a good deal for America’s hard working families—that means no more cuts to the vital services everyday Americans depend on: schools, healthcare, Social Security and public safety.

1. It’s about FAIRNESS. Across-the-board cuts are a bad idea—instead of sticking everyday Americans with the tab the wealthiest 2 percent must pay their fair share. To get our nation back on track, we need everyone to do their part—ending the Bush tax cuts for the richest two percent is a good start. We can raise a trillion dollars if we level the playing field and end special tax breaks for the wealthy, close tax loopholes for large corporations, and stop rewarding companies for moving jobs and corporate profits offshore. If we want to bring the deficit under control and stop borrowing money from China, large corporations are going to have to pay their fair share. We should end tax breaks for companies that shift jobs overseas.
2. It’s about PATRIOTISM. We have a moral and patriotic obligation to work together and fix the financial mess we inherited while doing our best to protect core American values. If you do well in America, you ought to do right by America. Many large companies, like GE and Verizon, pay zero federal income taxes.  Individuals and small businesses end up making up the difference, and that’s not right. Today the big corporations use their lobbyists and campaign contributions to rig the tax system in their favor. It’s about time they started living by the same rules as the rest of us. Small businesses create many new jobs. If we care about seeing “Made in the USA” on a regular basis again, we need to level the playing field by eliminating the tax loopholes for big corporations. The Bush tax cuts for the wealthy were wrong for America. It’s time to stand up to politicians, and stop them from stacking the deck in favor of their wealthy contributors, and sticking the rest of us with the tab.
3. It’s about PRIORITIES. We need to find a balanced approach that protects what’s important to ordinary Americans: jobs, education, Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security. We need to make investments that strengthen our economy and protect our core values: Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security, public education, safety, and transportation. Politicians should be on our side, fighting for the programs we rely on like Medicaid, Medicare and college tuition assistance. It’s a bad idea to freeze education spending, cut the programs Americans need, or place limits on spending for Medicaid and Medicare. America does better when we all do better—we need to protect middle-class priorities like education and healthcare. The system is rigged against middle-class and lower-income Americans. Instead of massive, across-the-board spending cuts that will hurt our families, we need to stand up for what’s right.
4. It’s about KIDS, NOT CUTS! Budget cuts impact real people, and some cuts never heal.  Corporations and CEOs have the deck stacked in their favor—someone needs to stand up for the children who have already been impacted by deep budget cuts. Cuts will dramatically cost America’s children: nearly all federal education programs could face reduced funding. Across-the-board cuts could mean nearly $5 billion in education cuts. What does it say about a nation that preserves tax cuts for the richest 2 percent by cutting education funding for special education. The cuts have real consequences: fewer services for more than 9 million public schools students and job losses for 80,000 Americans. Medicaid provides healthcare for more than a third of all children in America—how can we expect them to come to school ready to learn if they’re not healthy? In real terms, across-the-board cuts could mean students crammed into overcrowded classrooms, 4-year-olds cheated out of early childhood education, and dreams not realized due to soaring college costs.

[dropcap]1. [/dropcap]Vote to set an example for your children. As a child, I remember my parents getting ready to vote. They took the editorial page from the Akron Beacon Journal and scribbled notes in the margins. They took their union recommendations. They carefully folded everything up and made the special trip to the polls. They waited in long lines to cast their ballots. Early voting or voting by mail did not exist. My father never graduated high school, and my mother was a Stay-at -Home Mom. Voting was a big deal, and I could see from their actions how serious and important it was.  Come rain or sunshine, my parents voted in every election!

[dropcap]2. [/dropcap]Vote if you are a public employee earning a living from collected tax dollars, providing a public service to anyone in your community. You, alone, can see the benefit of your services. If your job is cut, most likely the service you provide to children, the elderly, or the poor will be, too, and there are some services that cannot be provided by private industry where everyone benefits.  We need public servants in a civilized society, paid for by local, state and federal tax dollars. Taxes are necessary, despite what you may hear on a regular basis from greedy, selfish candidates who have enough money to pay for their own servants.

[dropcap]3. [/dropcap]Vote for the education of America’s children. Few elected offices are more important than the local school board. Too often, wealthy, local, conservative business owners end up running for office with little experience in public service or education. Support those who are in unions or education, over those who have a reason to gain financially by getting local name recognition. Remember, you will pay for education, or you will pay for prisons to house the young, uneducated children, left behind by underfunded schools. Not voting is an automatic vote for prisons.

[dropcap]4. [/dropcap]Vote, so that local candidates, who will treat public tax dollars as their own money, are elected. Too often, I have heard city officials declare how they will choose to spend city money in their budgets. There is no such thing as “city money.” It is tax revenue for which you and I have given up, dearly, so that those of us who are less fortunate may be provided the same services as wealthy residents, such as public schools and libraries, or snow removal and paved roads. We all benefit when you vote for individuals who understand how education works and how public policy affects rich and poor alike.

[dropcap]5. [/dropcap]Vote to protect America’s senior citizens. Some day you will be old, I guarantee it! Your faces will become wrinkled with age spots, your neck will sag, and your memories will grow short. If you do not vote for elected officials who will protect Medicare, Social Security, and the Affordable Care Act, then those who have no medical coverage will die before their time. Your vote will have a direct impact on your family members in one way or another. They will have health coverage or they won’t. It is as simple as that.

Every time you vote, you have contributed a piece of your thought and being to the society in which you live. It costs you nothing, but you will gain immensely by spending an hour of your day requesting an absentee ballot or driving to your local polling place. Your vote is a pledge that says I am here for the greater good of society.  Remember that democracy is a participation sport that cannot survive in name alone. If democracy dies, something else will take its place like plutocracy, oligarchy, or theocracy. Check the definitions. It’s your choice.

By Susan Ridgeway, Wooster Education Association