A few weeks ago the US Supreme Court heard the Janus v. AFSCME case to determine whether public employees should be coerced into paying union dues as a precondition of employment. Many media outlets have claimed that the decision in this case could “destroy” government labor unions or even organized labor by creating what amounts to “Right to Work” for all government employees nationwide.
The claim that “Right to Work” destroys unions has always been a lie, but that was clearly illustrated recently in the West Virginia teachers strike. West Virginia teachers, a mere six months after “Right to Work” took effect in the State, went on strike (illegally) and got much of what they wanted in terms of higher pay and more generous benefits (according to none other than the radical journalist Amy Goodman).
It is odd in many ways that after decades of allegedly being underpaid and facing untold hardships (when the State was led by Democrats) that teachers waited until Republicans took control and passed “Right to Work” to strike, but that is exactly what happened. Whatever you think of what occurred in West Virginia, it is impossible to say that “Right to Work” killed the unions.
