Right to Work

In Michigan, they're trying to pass a law that anyone has the right to work without joining a union.  The little bit I know about unions is that there are definitely some issues that need changing and being able to work for a company without joining the union seems only fair.

I remember when (and it could still be happening) a union in Canada paid part of it's income to support the NDP party and I never thought this was fair to members who supported other parties.  Another instance is that new employees have to pay union dues for 6 months before they are even covered by the union.  How unfair is this?

Strong unions have been instrumental in gaining wages far exceeding their workers' abilities in many cases and that's a big problem. There are many people with superior knowledge and abilities who can't obtain wages even close to what a mailman makes, simply because they aren't in a union. 

The sad thing is that when your income potential is unbalanced because someone with less ability than you happens to belong to a union, the whole workforce suffers.  The public suffers.  If you can't get a job that you are well qualified for unless you join a union and pay union dues, then that is unfair.  There really has to be some choice in the matter.

It's frustrating because I can see the value in unions to help individuals fight huge conglomerates that would otherwise pay them slave wages but I can also see how some powerful unions have driven their members' wages far beyond what they should be.  What might be the answer is to take away just a bit of the union's power.  Giving an employee the option of joining a union or not is a good start.