Right To Work laws need fixing.

Here is a letter to the editor that I just sent to The Des Moines Register – in response to both an editorial and a letter that were recently published on the subject:

Both sides of the “Right To Work” laws are wrong.  The right answer is that the government should get out of the business of regulating employment relationships between private employers and employees.  Neither employees nor employers should be forced by our government to do something against their will.  And both employers and workers should be prohibited from using force against the other.

That means private employers should be free to negotiate or not negotiate with a union and workers should be free to strike or call for boycotts against any employer.  If they want, private employers should be free to require that all of their employees join the union.  Employees should be free to accept an employer’s terms of employment, negotiate better terms, or look elsewhere for work.  In all cases, no one, including the government, should be able to use force against anyone else.

In the case of government employment, the government should not be forced by law to negotiate with a union and employees should not be forced by law to join a union.

John Deere workers need to be careful to stay competitive.

The striking workers at John Deere just rejected the second contract proposal offered by the company. The workers need to be careful to not put John Deere in the position of being not competitive in world markets.

About 40% of John Deere’s revenues come from outside the U.S.  If the company is not competitive internationally it will see a dramatic decline in revenues, profits… and jobs.  Many people today push us to “buy American”.   That sounds good and patriotic, but if other countries do the same we will all be poorer.

International free trade, just like free trade among the states in the U.S., has two sides:  In the long run, it makes everyone better off, but in the short run disrupts the lives of many.  The best policy is to have a safety net that helps those who lose their jobs transition to new jobs, while allowing free trade to help improve the income and wealth of people around the world.