Right to Hire

Right to Work is a funny thing.

It means you have the right to work without being forced to join a union. That sounds good to conservatives, but usually it's the employer, not the government, requiring the union membership. Shouldn't the employer have the right of association, and the right to have its employees have certain credentials?

When the government *is* the employer, conservatives are unanimous in their opposition. Union proponents such as FDR and even George Meany, former leader of the AFL-CIO, recognize that it makes no real sense. There's unresolvable conflicts of interest, there's no benefit to the government and the people it represents, and it obviously and clearly violates the freedom of the employee.

So it's not that conservatives think employees should not be forced to join a union, it's more that we believe governments should be barred from collectively bargaining with unions at all. Feel free to join any union you want to -- that's your right -- but the government should not acknowledge it in any way.

But private employers? That should be their choice. If they want to be unfair to employees, if they want to have unreasonable requirements, if they want to hurt their bottom line ... that is their choice. Heck, maybe I'm wrong, and maybe unions are good for that business. That's what freedom means.