Unifor Local 27 Retirees Chapter

Retired from the job, but not the fight

'Right-to-work' will cause labour chaos, experts warn

Posted on January 11, 2015


With Tory leader Tim Hudak, the favourite to win the next provincial election, talking tough against unions and promoting a so-called right-to-work agenda, they warn that Ontario is heading for labour discontent that could cripple the province. Read more on this story.

"Right to Work" has been voted into law in the state of Michigan long a bulwark of union power in the States. The danger of the public perception of this phrase may soon be tested in Ontario. "Right to Work" is not about rights but more about destroying unions and with them long fought for workers rights.

Right to work is not new:

“In our glorious fight for civil rights, we must guard against being fooled by false slogans, such as ‘right to work.’ It is a law to rob us of our civil rights and job rights. Its purpose is to destroy labor unions and the freedom of collective bargaining by which unions have improved wages and working conditions of everyone…Wherever these laws have been passed, wages are lower, job opportunities are fewer and there are no civil rights. We do not intend to let them do this to us. We demand this fraud be stopped. Our weapon is our vote.” — Martin Luther King, speaking about right-to-work laws in 1961

"Right to Work" is not new, it has been used in state after state to drive down wages, eliminate workers rights, undermine health and safety laws and mainly to transfer workers wages and benefits into larger profits.