A New Approach to Resolving the Right-to-work Ethical Dilemma |
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Authors: | Helen Lam Mark Harcourt |
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Institution: | (1) Centre for Innovative Management, Athabasca University, 301, 22 Sir Winston Churchill Avenue, St. Albert, Alberta, Canada, T8N 1B4;(2) Department of Strategy and Human Resource Management, University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand |
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Abstract: | Union security has long been an industrial relations controversy. While compulsory unionism supporters say it benefits the
working class, right-to-work advocates denounce it as an unethical infringement of individual rights and freedom. Unfortunately,
neither side has adequately addressed the shortcomings of their viewpoint, nor the broader worker concerns about effective
representation beyond just “unionism”. In this paper, we examine the ethical and practical problems of compulsory (union security)
and voluntary (right-to-work) unionism and propose a new resolution, compulsory proportional representation, that has the
advantages of: (a) ensuring workers’ freedom to associate or not associate, (b) promoting freedom to contract, (c) allowing
free competition in representation in line with anti-trust principles, (d) improving industrial peace and efficiency, (e)
enhancing fairness and social justice, and (f) addressing the employer–employee power imbalance. It is superior to either
voluntary unionism, which often lead to management unilateralism, or compulsory unionism, where workers are compelled to join
unions against their will.
Helen Lam is an Associate Professor, Human Resource Management, in Athabasca University, working at the Centre for Innovative
Management which focuses on graduate management programs in business administration. She received her Ph.D. from the Faculty
of Business at the University of Alberta. Her research interests include the areas of downsizing, restructuring, quality initiatives,
business ethics, employment relations, human rights and legal issues at the workplace. Her work has been published in a variety
of academic journals.
Mark Harcourt is a professor in the Department of Strategy and Human Resource Management, Waikato Management School, Waikato
University. Mark has a Ph.D. in Business Administration from the University of Alberta, a Masters of Industrial Relations
from the University of Toronto, and a Bachelor of Commerce from Queen’s University. His teaching focus is on employment relations
and human resources management. Mark has also published articles in many national and international journals on a variety
of topics, including health and safety, and discrimination. |
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Keywords: | Compulsory unionism freedom of association right-to-work union security voluntary unionism worker representation |
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