Let's duck down a rabbit hole with Right to Work laws and NAFTA

[NorseThing]

Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner on Friday vetoed a bill that would prevent local governments from setting up their own "right-to-work" zones.Democrats sent Rauner the bill to try to combat an ongoing legal battle that the governor hopes will make its way to the U.S. Supreme Court. The measure he rejected asserts that only the General Assembly can make laws creating right-to-work policies, in which people can work for a company in union-protected positions without having to join the union or pay union fees.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/l...929-story.html

And then there is the point from Elizabeth Warren in an editorial regarding NAFTA and Canada:

I'm glad we're renegotiating NAFTA because it has been a raw deal for American workers. But the Canadians are giving America a wake-up call. As negotiations continue, the United States should take a close look at how our own broken labor policies are hurting American workers -- and fix them.



The Canadians focused on so-called "right-to-work" laws, the state regulations that make union dues optional even when unions bargain and represent all the workers. These state laws are a powerful weapon in the war against working people

So does Sen. Warren have point? Do these 'right to work laws' give the USA an unfair advantage involving international trade under the rules of NAFTA?

[Magnum_Opus]

Not sure about NAFTA. But I don't know why anyone should think that "right to work" laws shouldn't be universal. Unions often just act like petulant children and try to demand that because their arbitrary standards of what they think they are entitled to aren't being met, they should have the right to force other people from working. It's despicable.

[NorseThing]

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Not sure about NAFTA. But I don't know why anyone should think that "right to work" laws shouldn't be universal. Unions often just act like petulant children and try to demand that because their arbitrary standards of what they think they are entitled to aren't being met, they should have the right to force other people from working. It's despicable.

The thing is that Canada is wanting free trade. The problem is state right to work laws tend to neuter unions and have the effect of lowering wages. The Canadian unions do not want this. Since NAFTA is a federal trade agreement and we all know about the supremacy of federal over state laws, they want the feds to stop the state laws. Perhaps it is better to link to articles. Yes this is a bit weird on their part.

One group of negotiators spent all day Sunday working on the labour file, according to a schedule of the talks obtained by The Globe and Mail. One source familiar with the discussions said Canada wants the United States to pass a federal law stopping state governments from enacting right-to-work legislation; the source said the United States has not agreed to such a request. Canada believes that lower labour standards in the United States and Mexico, including right to work, give those countries an unfair advantage in attracting jobs.

https://beta.theglobeandmail.com/new...beandmail.com&

[Love Mountain]

Unions are a free market solution to capitalist disregard for the human element. Right to work laws? Fine, but then I want the union busting to stop.