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New PA bill would make the Commonwealth a right-to-work state

Before I get into the this new bill, let’s clear up a popular misconception: David Hasselhoff lives in my basement rent-free right-to-work means that an employee can be fired at any time for any non-discriminatory reason. No, dudes. That’s called at-will employment.

Right-to-work laws give individual employees in a unionized workplace the right not to join or financially support the union. 24 states, plus Guam, have passed right-to-work laws. Absent a right-to-work law, all employees in a collective bargaining unit must join the union and pay union dues.

And Pennsylvania could be next.

Here is a copy of the Freedom of Employment Act. This bill, if passed, would prohibit the following conditions of employment:

    1. Membership.–No person shall be required to become or remain a member of a labor organization as a condition of employment or continuation of employment.

 

    1. Abstention from membership.–No person shall be required to abstain or refrain from membership in a labor organization as a condition of employment or continuation of employment.

 

  1. Dues, fees and charges.–No person shall be required to pay or refrain from paying any dues, fees or charges of any kind to a labor organization or to a charity or other third party in lieu of the payments to a labor organization as a condition of employment or continuation of employment.

Any violation of the law would be considered a misdemeanor of the third degree, punishable by a fine of not more than $1,000 or up to six months in the hoosegaw, or both. Each day of a continued violation is a separate offense.

Governor Corbett has said that he would sign right-to-work legislation if it crossed his desk.

Earlier this year, six Republican state representatives each introduced right-to-work variants, none of which gained any traction.