Basic Right to Work Education

Recently, Iowa and Missouri passed sweeping Right to Work legislation. These two changes have led to 28 states in the U.S. now being Right to Work, so I figured right now might be a good time to give a quick crash lesson to everyone about what Right to Work actually is, and how it can affect you as an organized labor member.

Right to Work originally comes from the southern states of America. The theory was highly supported in the 1940’s by pro-segregationist and anti-communist groups. It was originally started in 1936, in Houston. Vance Muse, who was an oil industry lobbyist, received backing from the big oil companies, and off to the races it went. The name in itself is purposely misleading. It has nothing to do with giving you a “Right to Work”. What it does mean when Right to Work passes is that you don’t have to pay union dues, but the union must represent you. This includes covering workers in Collective Bargaining, but more importantly, grievances and discipline. This is called free-rider benefit: The free-rider gains all the benefits but doesn’t have any costs associated for them. Over time, your workplace rights are taken away.

MLAP Intro Part 3: Millennials and Leadership

The last subject I've decided to cover for my three part introduction to Millennial Labor and Politics is leadership. For millennials, leadership positions are something that can be somewhat of a unicorn. Whether this is on the new job at the firm or in politics, millennials are finding it difficult to break through the ceilings placed upon them by older generations.

However, leadership for our generation is more important than ever. Whether we like it or not, it is true that we don't operate how the baby boomers, or any other generation for that matter, have before us. In the workplace, we tend to value happiness over money.

MLAP Intro Part 2: Millennials and Politics

Politics. Yikes, so there's a red flag first date question. Something that seems to be so special and personal to everyone, yet such a taboo conversation with possible significant others, friends, sometimes family....and somehow it is so crucial to us as a generation. When starting this blog I tried to look at how I could present my personal thoughts and ideas on how politics are important to millennials, while also showing how they go hand in hand with labor. Organized labor generally finds solace within the democratic party and left side of the government. However, this is not always true, as some more moderate conservatives find labor to be an appealing way to connect with their constituents. I've had both positive and negative experiences with both parties. For this first post, I'm going to try to keep the theme limited to "get involved".

MLAP Intro Part 1: Why is organized labor important to Millenials?

When I talk to my friends about being involved in a union, I get a lot of questions, odd looks, and stories about Jimmy Hoffa. They are generally inquisitive on the subject, but I find myself sometimes tongue-tied when they inevitably ask, "But how is any of that important to me?" Alas, we truly are the "me" generation at times. As a Millennial from the Midwest, blue collar work has always had a place in my life. I am a firefighter/EMT, living in the community I work in. My grandfather worked for Ford Motor Company when he first moved to the Detroit area. When he got hired, the factory supervisor told my grandfather he got the job, then walked him over to the assembly line where he immediately started working.

WELCOME EVERYONE!

Hi everybody,

I just wanted to take a quick minute and welcome everyone to my blog. I'm hoping to use this as a platform for millennials to talk about mostly labor, some politics, and some leadership.