The Right to Work - Employment Relations Act Research Paper

The Right to Work - Employment Relations Act - Research Paper Example The formal name for the legislation was the Labor Management Relations Act (Decker and Covington, 2002). Apparently, the act was aimed at protecting workers from forced unionization and gave them the freedom to decide on whether or not to join labour unions but still enjoy job security (NRTW, 2011). This paper is a critical evaluation of labour relations in the states of Texas and New York in terms of the right to work. The right to work as per the US labour laws protects workers from losing their jobs or applicants being denied job opportunities on the basis of their affiliation with labour unions either financially or otherwise (NRTW, 2011). In this context, it would be important to mention that labour organizations are an important entity in the society, which, among other responsibilities, fights for the betterment of employee’s lives by acting as a unified force through which workers concerns and grievances are presented to the relevant stakeholders such as employers and the government at large for consideration. In general, labour unions are supposed to be the major champions and defenders of workers’ rights to ensure that they are not discriminated in any way by scrupulous agencies and employers. However, it is notable that some labour laws in different states in the US provide for the same unions to trample on some of the fundamental rights of employees that are included even in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states categorically that it is every person’s right to work. Such states are for example New York, which is pro-forced unionization. In New York State, unions are given the right to demand union fees from employees as a condition for their continued employment (FindLaw 2011). To achieve this, the employers work hand in hand with the unions to ensure that the fees are deducted from the salaries and delivered to the unions. If an employee refuses to pay up, they are faced with the possibility of losing their jobs, a factor which is categorized as a major challenge especially for the young generations, who opt to move to other states such as Texas, which have the right to work.  Ã‚