Myth: Union Representation is Inherently Beneficial

Reality

Union "representation" is often to the detriment of individual workers.

The “duty of fair representation,” articulated by the U.S. Supreme Court in Steele v. Louisville & Nashville R.R., leaves union bosses free to bargain against the interests of many workers they “represent”. They are free to seek better pay for full-timers at part-timers’ expense, fight merit pay for high performers and play hardball over benefits with looming layoffs. 

Steele only contemplates protection against arbitrary discrimination by union officials -- in that case, attempts by the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and Engineers to exclude blacks from employment with the railroads. The Court reasoned that Congress couldn’t have intended to give union bosses unlimited power under the Railway Labor Act and must have intended to impose a “fair representation” duty on union officials.

See:

Dartmouth Grad Student Challenges Forced Unionism 

NH Workers Seek Refund of Unconstitutionally Seized Union Dues 

SEA Faces Lawsuit for Illegal Forced Dues in NH 

SEIU Union Bosses Violate NH Workers First Amendment Rights 

New England Workers Try to Vindicate Janus Rights 

NH State Employees File Class Action Lawsuit 

Rest in Peace, Franklin Partin Jr. 

250 NH State Workers Lose Jobs to SEA 

NH Postal Worker Files Complaint for Illegal Union PAC Money Laundering 

Spaulding Composites Employees in NH file Unfair Labor Practice Charges