It seems like every few days we see another example of workers giving unions the cold shoulder.
Over the last three decades, unionization in the private sector has plummeted from 35% to just under 7% today. This is the lowest rate in a century.
In fact, nine out of 10 Americans currently working in a non-union environment would say “no” to unionization, if given the choice.
But Big Labor bosses don’t seem to get the message. Instead, they work to force unionization on employees and employers at every turn. They’re like a bad first date who won’t take “no thank you” for an answer.
And in recent days they have grown increasingly desperate and turned to regulatory agencies to do their bidding. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is tasked with administering to disputes between unions and employers in the private sector. The agency is supposed to be “independent” and is funded with taxpayer dollars.
Under the Obama Administration, the NLRB has become hyper-partisan with board members like Craig Becker advocating for Big Labor’s agenda resulting in job-killing policies that hurt workers and negatively impact small businesses. Becker is a former lawyer for the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) and Service Employees International Union (SEIU), and continues to serve as an advocate for labor bosses in spite of the fact that the American people pay his salary.
The National Mediation Board (NMB) was created in the 1930s to settle labor disputes in the airline and railroad industries and keep America moving. However, the agency has become yet another place where labor bosses are seeking favors and gifts due to the fact that workers in the railroad and airline industries have repeatedly rejected unionization.
Instead of standing by the decisions made by workers, the NMB issued a rule change upending nearly a century of precedent whereby a majority of employees were required to vote in favor of the union to form a collective bargaining unit. Two of three NMB members, also handpicked supporters of Big Labor decided that a majority of those voting was sufficient to create a collective bargaining unit even if it meant workers lost their voice and vote.
Even though it’s the workplace equivalent to being forced into a second date, Big Labor bosses cheered the change of a rule in place since Franklin Delano Roosevelt was president.
The actions of the NMB were so egregious, that the U.S. House of Representatives recently voted to undo them in its reauthorization legislation for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
All of this comes on the heels of workers and small businesses thwarting efforts by union bosses to undo democratic staples like the secret ballot. In the last session of Congress, elected officials supported and financed by labor organizations introduced the Employee ‘Forced’ Choice Act (EFCA).
The legislation would have effectively eliminated the secret ballot by instituting a card check process allowing organizers to coerce and intimidate workers forcing them to support unionization. And after the collective bargaining unit had been formed through fear and harassment, the bill required binding arbitration empowering the government to mandate contract terms on employees and employers alike without their consent.
The legislation was soundly rejected on Capitol Hill by elected representatives on behalf of their constituents sending a message to Big Labor that said, “don’t call us, we’ll call you.”
So I have a message for Mr. Trumka and his Big Labor boss pals as they work to force workers into their ranks against their will: “Sorry guys, they’re just not that into you.”