It’s Labor Day, not Union Day. American workers deserve freedom of choice
This story raises questions about governance, accountability, and American values.
Labor Day was never supposed to be a union recruitment ad. It's a day to grill something, watch a parade if your town still does that, and tip your hat to the fact that American workers built this country with their hands and their backs. Somewhere along the way, though, union leadership decided the holiday belongs to them, and every September they use it to push an agenda that a lot of the workers they claim to speak for never asked for.
New Republican Times Editorial Board
Union bosses exploit Labor Day to push coercive policies like the PRO Act, which would repeal right-to-work laws and force compulsory union dues.
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New Republican Times Editorial Board
Labor Day was never supposed to be a union recruitment ad. It's a day to grill something, watch a parade if your town still does that, and tip your hat to the fact that American workers built this country with their hands and their backs. Somewhere along the way, though, union leadership decided the holiday belongs to them, and every September they use it to push an agenda that a lot of the workers they claim to speak for never asked for.
The PRO Act is the clearest example. Strip away the messaging and it's a bill that would nuke right-to-work laws in states that chose them, and force workers into paying dues to an organization they may not want representing them at all. That's not empowerment. That's a mandate dressed up in solidarity language. Right-to-work states didn't pass those laws by accident. Voters and legislators in places like Texas, Tennessee, and dozens of others decided workers should get to choose whether union membership is worth their money, not have it deducted whether they like it or not.
Freedom of association cuts both ways. You should be free to join a union if it helps you, and free to walk away if it doesn't. Union bosses pushing the PRO Act aren't fighting for that freedom, they're fighting to eliminate the choice altogether, because a shrinking share of workers are choosing to opt in voluntarily. Membership numbers have been sliding for decades, and instead of asking why fewer workers see the value, some union leadership would rather change the law so opting out isn't an option.
Labor Day should honor the guy pouring concrete in July heat and the woman running a small shop with three employees just as much as anyone carrying a union card. Compulsory dues and one-size-fits-all mandates don't honor that broader definition of work. They narrow it, and they hand power to the people at the top of union hierarchies rather than the workers actually clocking in. That's worth remembering before the burgers hit the grill.
Commentary written with AI assistance by the New Republican Times Editorial Board.