The Catholic - Labor Network

Documents & Articles which concern Catholic and Labor Issues Papal Social Encyclicals Other Catholic Social Teachings Catholic Hospitals & Labor Catholic Schools & Labor Msgr. George Higgins Catholic Worker Connection General Articles of Interest Home Page The Catholic-Labor Network E-Mail List The Catholic-Labor Network is dependent on interested persons sharing their activities struggles, victories and prayers with other like minded men and women of faith. We strongly invite all those who visit this page, and who share a common interest in issues effecting the Catholic Church and the Labor Movement to subscribe. Occasionally, notices will be sent when this page is updated. When important events happen, we will pass on the information through the e-mail list, and most of all, the e-mail list is a means by which we can pray and support each other. Some Catholic and Labor Links The Holy See The National Conference of Catholic Bishops Human Rights for Workers The Labor Issues Guide National Association of Catholic School Teachers The Houston Catholic Worker Catholic Online National Interfaith Committee for Worker Justice The Seamless Garment Network The International Labour Organization The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations The International Transport Workers Federation Union Web

Right-to-Work Legislation Back in the News By Msgr. George G. Higgins The Yardstick July 30, 2001     So-called right-to-work legislation that went down to defeat the last time around in Missouri in 1978 is back in the news, this time in Oklahoma where a referendum is being hotly debated.     The 1978 measure in Missouri was strongly opposed by the Missouri Catholic Conference. It came out against a proposed state constitutional amendment to make the union shop illegal. The Missouri conference cut through the thicket of anti-union propaganda by proponents of the amendment and went to the heart of the matter. The conference said the amendment would so impede the effectiveness of collective bargaining that the right itself would be seriously imperiled -- a right long and vigorously supported by the church.     The conference's position was the same as that the U.S. bishops took in 1965 testimony before Congress on right-to-work legislation. In view of the current Oklahoma controversy, that testimony is still timely.     A right-to-work law forbids an employer to require an employee to be a union member as a condition for obtaining or retaining employment. The history of such legislation is pertinent to the current Oklahoma controversy. Prior to 1935, employers often denied U.S. workers the right to organize into unions of their choice. The National Labor Relations Act, passed in 1935 and declared constitutional in 1937, was the first effective legal guarantee of this natural right. Under this act, the federal government protected workers who wished to join unions, provided they were employed in industries subject to federal jurisdiction.     Under the U.S. Constitution, the federal act superseded all state laws where interstate commerce was affected. However, when the act was replaced in 1947 by the Taft-Hartley Act, Congress gave the states concurrent jurisdiction, provided only that state laws were more restrictive than the federal law. Under this provision's impetus, some 15 or 20 states have enacted right-to-work laws.     The general effect of such laws is to prohibit all types of compulsory union membership. The closed shop already had been outlawed by the 1947 federal act. But state right-to-work laws go further and forbid the union shop, maintenance of membership and other forms of modified union security. To evaluate these laws fairly, it is necessary to present and weight the major arguments in debates on the question.     First, the common title of these laws is itself a matter of debate. Opponents of the measures claim that the title is a play on words, cloaking the laws' real purpose, which is to enforce further restrictions on union activity. Such laws do not provide jobs for workers; they merely prevent workers from building strong, stable unions.     The pressure for the legislation does not arise from workers seeking their “rights.” Proponents are uniformly employers' organizations and related groups. Often such laws are part of a program by underdeveloped states seeking to attract industry by the lure of a docile, low-paid labor force.     Second, it is alleged that states should have the right to regulate labor problems according to their own desires and that federal standards should not be imposed upon them. But this argument is not convincing. Under present conditions, the right to regulate labor problems has not been returned to the states. What is conceded is the limited power to enact union-security regulations more stringent than those in the federal law; a state may not enact regulations more favorable to the union movement.     There are other strong reasons why states should not regulate labor matters where interstate commerce is involved. Under the U.S. Constitution, matters that affect interstate commerce are reserved exclusively to the federal government. Any trend in the contrary direction must be scrutinized with great care. Papal Social Encyclicals Other Catholic Social Teachings General Articles of Interest Catholic Worker Connection Msgr. George Higgins Home Page E-Mail: Fr. Sinclair Oubre