TIL: unions in Georgia
There have been a couple of distressing developments in the world of organized labor here in Georgia. On the heels of signing a letter discouraging workers from joining unions, Governor Brian Kemp recently passed a law that forces union elections to happen via secret ballot. Union advocates say this change will prevent unions from forming because secret ballot elections can be pressured to not happen. I was surprised to read about this development, mainly because I’d always thought that Georgia’s “right to work” status meant that unions were illegal, or at least hampered in some legal way. I realized that I didn’t really know what “right to work” really meant, so I decided to look into it today while waiting for some car repair work.
So how do unions in Georgia actually work?
There are no laws against creating or joining a union in Georgia! The federal laws that protect union formation apply here too. NLRB rules still apply. Workers are free to organize as they see fit.
What does “right to work” mean exactly?
Aha! It doesn’t mean that unions are illegal, just means that union membership can’t be mandatory for working somewhere. You can’t be required to join a union or pay union dues to work at a company or to benefit from results of union negotiations if there is a union. In more specific terms, it means that union security agreements were no longer legal in “right to work” states. “Right to work” doesn’t mean unions are illegal. Workers still have the right to organize, and companies are still prevented from retaliating against workers who form or join unions. It seems like anti-union folks would frame this as supporting freedom of choice. If a worker doesn’t want to join a union, they don’t have to. The obvious drawback is that this weakens union power; if workers are persuaded to not join the union, the union simply can’t do as much.
Some closing thoughts
I think the biggest issue facing union efforts in Georgia is honestly lack of awareness. Anti-union efforts have largely succeeded here in Georgia – the evidence is in my incorrect assumption that unions were somehow illegal here! The government and companies are largely without recourse if workers decide to organize. We have to take advantage of this lassiez-faire environment. Hopefully companies’ patently anti-worker behavior over the past several years will encourage workers to organize. Companies don’t care about workers – we have to take care of ourselves. They can’t stop us!