Democratic leaders in the US Senate and the House of Representatives recently launched an initiative to repeal state right-to-work laws, claiming they are victimizing the diminishing unionized workforce in America. Dubbed “A Better Deal”, their proposal would:
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“Strengthen penalties on predatory corporations that violate workers’ rights, and combat misclassification of workers as supervisors and independent contractors.
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“Strengthen workers’ right to strike for basic workplace improvements, including higher wages and better working conditions.
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“Create a mandatory mediation and arbitration process to ensure corporations and newly formed unions reach a first contract.
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“Ban state laws that undermine worker freedoms to join together and negotiate.
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“Provide millions of public employees with the freedom to join a union and collectively bargain with their employers.
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“Streamline the National Labor Relation Board’s procedures to secure worker freedoms and effectively prevent violations.
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“Protect the integrity of union elections against coercive captive audience meetings.
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“Use federal purchasing power and policy to help expand opportunities to negotiate.”
Democrats confront an increasingly challenging environment on the state level, as right-to-work laws are being enacted and upheld across the land. Currently, 28 states and Guam have such laws on their books. That explains the Democratic push to bypass the will of state legislatures and courts and turn to the powerful apparatus of the federal government to impose their policy from the top down.
Their efforts will go nowhere as long as a Republican is in the White House – unless they are able to seize control of both houses of the national legislature and have such a dominant majority as to be able to override a veto from President Trump. Democrats also appear to be moving beyond their focus on identity politics and reach out once again to a constituency they started to abandon in the 1960s: working-class voters.