RT Article
T1 A New Approach to Resolving the Right-to-work Ethical Dilemma
JF Journal of business ethics
VO 73
IS 3
SP 231
OP 243
A1 Lam, Helen
A1 Harcourt, Mark
LA English
PB Springer Science + Business Media B. V
YR 2007
UL https://www.ixtheo.de/Record/1785627856
AB Union security has long been an industrial relations controversy. While compulsory unionism supporters say it benefits the working class, right-to-work advocates denounce it as an unethical infringement of individual rights and freedom. Unfortunately, neither side has adequately addressed the shortcomings of their viewpoint, nor the broader worker concerns about effective representation beyond just “unionism”. In this paper, we examine the ethical and practical problems of compulsory (union security) and voluntary (right-to-work) unionism and propose a new resolution, compulsory proportional representation, that has the advantages of: (a) ensuring workers’ freedom to associate or not associate, (b) promoting freedom to contract, (c) allowing free competition in representation in line with anti-trust principles, (d) improving industrial peace and efficiency, (e) enhancing fairness and social justice, and (f) addressing the employer–employee power imbalance. It is superior to either voluntary unionism, which often lead to management unilateralism, or compulsory unionism, where workers are compelled to join unions against their will.
K1 worker representation
K1 voluntary unionism
K1 union security
K1 right-to-work
K1 freedom of association
K1 Compulsory unionism
DO 10.1007/s10551-006-9203-5