First, they wanted to take away a worker's right to a secret ballot.

Now they want to require that employers recognize unions that represent only a minority of employees.

Seven labor unions asked the National Labor Relations Board yesterday to order employers to bargain with unions, even when the unions represent only a minority of employees.

This would be a sharp departure from current practices, in which employers are required to bargain with a union only after it shows that a majority of employees at a workplace support it.

The unions hope that such a change will make it easier to unionize workers. Today, 7.4 percent of private-sector workers belong to unions, less than a fourth of the rate in the 1950s.

Frankly, this notion is absurd. To require an employer to have different wage scales and benefit packages depending on union membership is unreasonable. And that is exactly what the result would eventually be -- because the next step for the unions is to demand not only negotiations, but binding arbitration or mediation with the employers.

Indeed, the entire notion that an employer has an obligation to bargain with a union at all is absurd -- after all, why shouldn't a business be able to look for the best value for his dollar by picking a different supplier? If he can do this with raw materials, he should also be permitted to do this with labor.

Posted by: Greg at 05:03 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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