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PA Chamber members support Pennsylvania becoming a 'right-to-work' state
Current legislation seeks to abolish status quo policies of forced unionism
Establishing Pennsylvania
as a “right-to-work” state would allow employees to decide for themselves on
union representation while improving the state’s reputation for business
friendliness. That is the message PA Chamber members are delivering to state
lawmakers in supporting a legislative bill package designed to end forced
unionism in the Commonwealth.
In advance of a House Labor and Industry Committee public
hearing held Aug. 16 on the issue, the PA Chamber submitted a letter
to committee members outlining the business community’s concerns with the
status quo.
Forced unionism strips employees of their workplace freedoms
because it requires them to align themselves with and pay dues to an
organization they may disagree with or would not voluntarily join.
The additional expectation that employees contribute their
own time and money toward lobbying, campaign donations and political activism
efforts make the practice even more unreasonable, PA Chamber members argue.
Right-to-work laws in more than 20 states have had a
favorable impact on both the private-sector workforce and the business
community at large. In fact, a recent
study by Chief Executive Magazine
on the Best/Worst States for Business found that nine of the top 10 states to
conduct business had applied right-to-work laws, while all 10 of the states
with the least favorable business rating had enacted no such measures.
The PA Chamber supports legislation introduced in recent
months by state Rep. Daryl Metcalfe, R-Butler, which would bring Pennsylvania’s labor
laws in line with the laws in right-to-work states. While H.B.
50 would directly apply the right-to-work law, H.B.
51, H.B.
52 and H.B.
53 would specifically protect employees from forced union membership –
public education employees, state employees and local government employees,
respectively.
“PA Chamber members support these policies because they
foster positive, equitable work environments and promote investment by
improving the perception potential investors might have of the Commonwealth’s
business climate,” the PA Chamber noted in its memo to lawmakers.
The PA Chamber urged the committee to act on the bills when
the state House returns to session.
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Founded in 1916, the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry is the state's largest broad-based business association, with its membership comprising businesses of all sizes and across all industry sectors. The PA Chamber is The Statewide Voice of Business.
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