Arizona Congressman Paul Gosar joined Steve King (Republican-Iowa) as an original co-sponsor of the National Right to Work Act, H.R. 946. The House bill is a companion bill to S. 204, the Senate’s version of the National Right to Work Act introduced by Senator Rand Paul (Republican-Ky.)
“No one should be forced to join a union or pay union dues in order to work,” said Gosar in a statement released on Friday. “The idea that a worker who refuses to pay union fees could be at risk of losing their job to Big Labor is inconsistent with our American values.”
Rep. Gosar continued, “We must defend freedom in the workplace. I support the goal of this legislation and hope the 26 states where forced unionism exists can join Arizona as ‘Right to Work’ states.”
The one page bill would end Big Labor’s federally-authorized power to force workers to pay union dues or fees as a condition of employment.
Mark Mix, President of the National Right to Work Committee, issued a statement praising the introduction of the bill, “In an age of legislative overreach, this is one of the shortest bills ever introduced. A National Right to Work Act does not add a single word to federal law. It simply removes language in the National Labor Relations Act that gives union officials the power to extract dues from nonunion workers as a condition of employment.
Voluntary association is a quintessential American ideal and the case for Right to Work has always rested on the principles of employee freedom, but passage of a National Right to Work law will also pay economic dividends. Studies demonstrate that workers in Right to Work states enjoy greater private sector job growth and higher disposable incomes than their counterparts in states without Right to Work protections.”
Polls consistently show that 80 percent of Americans and union members support the principle of voluntary unionism.
Twenty-four states currently have Right to Work protections for workers.