"The myth of the ‘free rider’ issue in right-to-work laws"

Useful information.

Comments

[Mike]

I still think there's a free-rider issue assuming I know the union's dues and the negotiated union wage/benefits.

Then, as a non-union member or as a member of a one man union, I should be able to negotiate my wage/benefits so that I'm better off not joining the union. That would be any wage/benefits greater than the union wage/benefits minus union dues. Just accepting whatever the union negotiated wage/benefits would make be better off.

If I'm an above average employee, I should do much better that the union wage. If I'm a below average employee, I probably want to stick with the union ... which creates more problems for the union ...

[Ken]

Mike,

Comment fail.

Good to see you didn't even bother to read the article to which Craig linked, otherwise you might have said something usefu.

[Mike]

Comment fail - I did read the linked article.

And I see a free-rider issue - an issue for the unions. Why should I join a union if I can negotiate just as well on my own?

Thanks for the kind words Ken.

[JorgXMckie]

Arguably it's the union that is free riding on the better/best employees. If the company didn't want to have the better/best employees to stay they'd never agree to keeping those as the bottom of the barrel, assuming they could find either someone no worse who would work for less or someone better who would work for the same.

Therefore, the bottom 50% or so of workers [and the union officials every member's dues support] are free riding on the labor of the top 50%.