Top Priority

Ending Forced Unionism by Passing State Right to Work Laws

Right now, more than half a million New England workers are forced to pay tribute to a union boss — or be fired. Most importantly, that’s just plain wrong. 

And it isn't just those workers that suffer for it -- forced-unionism impacts all New Englanders. Big Labor’s mandated inefficiencies, job featherbedding, wasteful work rules, and union-label hate-the-boss mentality are driving jobs and businesses out of the region -- and all the more, our children are following them.

Over the last decade, Right to Work states saw an incredible fifty times more job creation than forced unionism states.

Meanwhile, forced union dues funnel money into Big Labor’s political machine, which elects their handpicked politicians -- who are sure to vote to protect and expand Big Labor’s forced-dues empire even further, no matter the cost.

So, for all these reasons, New England Citizens for Right to Work believes that it's critical to pass state Right to Work laws and finally end forced union dues in New England.

Secondary Priorities

New England Citizens for Right to Work is a single-issue organization dedicated to ending forced unionism. Currently, passing state Right to Work laws are -- by far -- the best mechanism available for doing that. Therefore, the overwhelming majority of our effort is spent building towards passage of Right to Work laws. 

Sometimes, that means going to the mat for high-profile, short-term political showdowns. Other times, that means the slow and steady grind of building strength for the long-term movement. Rome wasn't built in a day, but it was well-worth building. Whether Right to Work was in the news this week or not, we are steadily pushing forward for worker freedom.

However, there are a handful of other varieties of legislation that directly impact forced unionism, for better or for worse. In these limited cases, New England Citizens for Right to Work will take a position and get involved to an appropriate extent according to circumstance. Although these secondary issues are truly important, their impact will never be as profound as passing a state Right to Work law under section 14(b) of the federal Taft-Hartley Act.

Banning Union-Only Project Labor Agreements

Today, New England state laws allow so-called 'project labor agreements' which discriminate against the vast majority of workers in the building trades who choose not to join a union. 

An infamous local example was Boston's 'Big Dig', which the Associated Press described as "littered with wrong turns". Although it was originally scheduled for completion in 1998 for $2.6 billion, it was ultimately completed in 2007 for $14.8 billion -- delivered nine years late, and leaving taxpayers on the hook for more than five times the original cost. The 'Big Dig' was plagued by cost overruns, delays, leaks, design flaws, accusations of poor execution and use of substandard materials, criminal charges and arrests, and the death of one motorist.

By undermining free market competition these agreements have been shown to raise costs -- borne by taxpayers like you and me -- by as much as 25%. All while they do nothing to actually ensure that projects are completed safely or on time.

New England Citizens for Right to Work believes that government 'project labor agreements' are wrong, and so state and local governments should be banned from implementing PLAs on any construction projects.

Defending Public-Sector Janus Rights

In the landmark 2018 Janus v. AFSCME decision, the United States Supreme Court declared forced dues in the public sector unconstitutional under the First Amendment of the US Constitution. 

This was an enormous success for our movement, effectively bringing Right to Work to the public sector nationwide.

Of course, Big Labor wasn't going to let that cash cow go easily. 

Ever since, the union bosses and their pet politicians have advanced a steady stream of convoluted schemes to maintain their power over workers and governments -- ranging from setting arbitrary resignation windows, to requiring non-union workers to pay “fees” for using mandatory union-created grievance processes, to direct taxpayer subsidies of union bosses. 

New England Citizens for Right to Work stands against any attempts to diminish Janus rights for public-sector workers. 

Ending Union-Only Monopoly Bargaining for Government Workers

Right now, state laws across New England grant union officials monopoly-bargaining power over public-sector employees -- whether or not they want union boss “representation”.

What does that mean? Monopoly bargaining usurps those workers’ right to bargain on their own behalf. Citizens should be able to work for their own state or local government without having to defer to a third-party union boss.

And it's a bad deal for the rest of us too, because monopoly bargaining inevitably leads to poorer service at higher costs, with taxpayers stuck footing the bill.

Therefore, New England Citizens for Right to Work believes in ending union-only monopoly bargaining privileges in the public sector.