National Policy Issue Areas
At the Alliance for Worker Freedom, our analysts and labor policy experts work on a variety of labor, business, regulatory and economic issues. Please scroll down or click on an issue below to learn more about that topic.
Right to Work Laws: are provisions of the Labor-Management Relations Act—more commonly known as the Taft-Hartley Act—which prohibit compulsory membership in and payment of dues to unions, both pre and post hire. Right to Work Laws ensure that “closed shop” employment, a system whereby membership to the union was a precondition to employment, does not persist. “Closed shops” presuppose that members of a trade agree with union positions as well as their correlating political activities, amongst many other things.
AWF supports right to work laws because they are of the utmost importance to protecting the Constitutional freedom of association and the coercion of forced dues payment is antithetical to worker freedom. The necessary condition of forced union dues violates the free market labor laws and inhibits worker freedom.
Click here to view AWF's right to work map.
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Public Sector Collective Bargaining: Public sector collective bargaining refers to public employees’ rights to organize in unions and discuss their salaries and work places, hence the term “collective bargaining.” Collective bargaining leaves the employer powerless against the empowered employees against union bosses. Collective bargaining rights impinge upon the rights of the employer to hire whoever they want because it decreases the aggregate number of potential employees.
AWF opposes collective bargaining rights because forced bargaining sessions render the state and employer helpless to the demands of special interests. By giving one labor group authority to demand an increase on salaries, benefits, and promotions, everyone else has something taken away. If any public official or teacher is forced by their union to strike and demands more money, the taxpayer will now pay their new state subsidized salary. Pay and benefits should be based on merit system, not forced monopolies. Additionally, AWF opposing the forced representation that collective bargaining brings. Workers should not be forced to have an external agent "bargaining" on their behalf. AWF continues to push for the repeal of all state collective bargaining laws.
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Paycheck Protection: Paycheck protection refers to laws that prohibit public employee labor organizations from using public employee dues for political contribution; paycheck protection ensures that union bosses do not spend employees’ dues without their consent on political activity they do not support. Paycheck protection requires a written consent from the employee to the employer for the use of his or her union dues on political contributions.
AWF supports paycheck protection laws because they guarantee the basic rights of association. Paycheck protection laws also increase fiscal transparency and accountability on the part of the unions, both of which are imperative to worker freedom.
AWF is pleased to provide you with links to state paycheck protection laws. Please click on the state name to find out more about the laws in that state: Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, Ohio, Michigan and Washington state.
Click here to view AWF's paycheck protection map.
October, 2008 - AWF is proud to endorse Colorado's ballot initiative Amendment 49, "Ethical Standards for Public Payroll Systems."
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Card Check: Card check refers to a method of organization for workers into a union, whereby employees can vote up or down on whether they would like to join the union or not. Card check voting was once held in secret, but in 2005 the Employee Free Choice Act, H.R. 800, was introduced in the United States Congress (later passed in 2007 by the House), allowing for the vote to be tallied publicly. The Employee Free Choice act strips a worker of any right to vote against the formation of a union and leaves them open to union intimidation lest they support unionization.
AWF opposes H.R. 800 and supports a working environment free of intimidation and bribery of the worker where similar to our national election, workers can vote to join a union or not using private ballots.
April, 2008 - click here to view recent polling on "Card Check".
October, 2008 - click here for a easy to read, one-page fact sheet on "Card Check".
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Minimum wage: Minimum wage refers to the lowest hourly wage employers can legally pay their employees. The recent Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007, the minimum wage was raised from $5.15 to $7.25 an hour by 2010. The current federal level as of this writing (insert date of publication) is $5.85 an hour (enacted as of July 24th, 2007). Nearly all states adhere to the federal level of minimum wage, and many more increase this precedent. States that don’t have minimum wage laws are Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Tennessee—by default their minimum wage is that of the federal government.
AWF opposes minimum wage laws because they infringe upon the employer’s right to set wages. Minimum wage laws also effectively “price out” low skilled workers from the market. Minimum wage laws also decrease the need for labor and reduce profit margins for employers, thereby driving up prices for consumers.
Click here to view AWF's state minimum wage map.
Click below for even more information on minimum wage reform from the Employment Policy Institute.
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Defined Contribution Pensions vs. Defined Benefit Pensions: Defined Contribution Pensions vs. Defined Benefit Pensions: Defined contribution pensions are pension plans that are portable and more “employee-friendly.” These plans offer more autonomy for the employee to choose his or her investments. They are predominately offered in the private sector. Common examples of Defined Contribution Pensions include the SIMPLE IRA and the 401(k) plan. Conversely, Defined Benefit Pensions are pension plans that do not have individual accounts, and in which the person is paid an amount at retirement that is based on his or her position, years worked, and the like. Often, defined benefit pension plans are dominated by labor union-controlled boards. While these plan administrators are under a legally-binding fiduciary obligation to maximize plan assets for workers, secondary considerations (e.g. unionization, social activism, etc.) can and have intruded on this basic worker security. Workers, for their part, have little or no say in how their retirement nest egg is invested.
AWF supports Defined Contribution Pensions because they give the employee a higher degree of control over his own retirement. Defined Contribution Pensions are more flexible and portable, while simultaneously allowing for workers to invest in the stock and bond markets. Workers control how much is deposited into their accounts (whether it be from employee salary deferral or from employer contributions).
Click here to view AWF's state by state pension comparison map.
Click here to read VEBAs: Union Slush Funds for the 21st Century, co-authored by Executive Director Brian Johnson and published by the Capital Research Center.
October, 2008 - currently, AWF is working with the Department of Labor and the Internal Revenue Service to investigate the potential ERISA violations and Pension Protection Act abuses and underfunding of several Service Employee International Union (SEIU) pension funds. Click here for more information.
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Privatization: Privatization refers to the transfer of programs from the public sector (i.e. government) to the private sector. It is also referred to as “de-nationalization.” Private market actors can often more efficiently deliver many goods or services than the government due to free market competition. In general, over time this should lead to lower prices, improved quality, more choices, less corruption, quicker delivery and less bureaucratic red tape. There are various types of "privatization":
Competitive Sourcing
Competitive sourcing is the most prevalent type of privatization. Under this system, government agencies are required to submit a list of their commercial activities to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Private entities then compete directly with the government for the opportunity to perform some of these activities. The current initiative is guided by OMB Circular A-76.
Divestiture
Divestiture involves the sale of commercial government operations to the private sector. Examples include Reagan’s sale of Conrail and Clinton’s sale of the Elk Hills Naval Petroleum Reserve
Public-private partnerships (PPPs)
A PPP is simply a joint effort between public and private entities. Typically, the government will contract with a private company to finance, construct, and operate a public service. The private entity then profits by charging either users or the government for services rendered.
Vouchers
Vouchers provide subsidies which can be redeemed for goods and services offered by the private sector, as opposed to the government directly providing these goods and services. Examples include food stamps, school vouchers, and student loans.
AWF supports privatization efforts, given that it is not evident prior to privatization that market failures and monopolies will inhibit the ability to propagate government benefits.
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Competitive Sourcing: Competitive Sourcing is the act of exposing government activities to competition with the private sector. Competition provides an imperative for the public sector to focus on continuous improvement and removing roadblocks to better performance and greater efficiency. The objective is to focus on the most effective and efficient way of accomplishing the agency's mission, regardless of whether it is done by civil servants or contractors. A competitive source analysis consists of contrasting a public sector task with that of a similar private sector task and rating them based on a cost, quality, efficiency, and the like.
AWF supports competitive sourcing because it ensures a well-rounded “bidding pool,” in which companies compete for government contracts. Competitive sourcing has the ability ensure government efficiency, as well as lower costs and improve quality.
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Prevailing Wage (Davis-Bacon Act): Prevailing wage refers to the median wage and benefits provided to workers in any federally assisted construction projects of over $2,000, guaranteed by the Davis-Bacon Act of 1931. The Davis-Bacon Act was meant to ensure fair wages for those during the Great Depression. The prevailing wage is often equal to the unionized wage, which gives unionized construction companies unchallenged authority over the rate of any federal construction project. Prevailing wages are found by using voluntary surveys to determine the wage that “prevails.” Herein lays the problem. Unionized construction workers have a strong incentive to respond to these surveys, while nonunionized workers have little motivation to respond. As a result, albeit very few construction workers are unionized, most of the surveys report paying unionized wages and therefore the unionized wage often prevails.
AWF opposes prevailing wage laws because they artificially drive up the cost of federally funded construction; moreover, they impede fundamental laws of free market economies. While complete repeal of Davis-Bacon is the ultimate goal, AWF advocates for reform of the prevailing wage survey calculations.
Click here to view AWF's prevailing wage law map.
Click here to view AWF's coalition letter of 25+ groups that support Davis-Bacon reform
Click here to view AWF's Davis-Bacon reform Legislative briefing packet
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Union Financial Transparency: Union financial transparency refers to the increased transparency of union expenses to avoid the egregious abuses of union dues to political contributions against the worker’s will (see above: paycheck protection laws). In 1959, union corruption was so widespread, the Senate and House voted in a bipartisan manner to enact the Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act. Hitherto this act, unions were required to disclose their financial reports, but they were not made public. The LMRDA law requires that unions publicize their financial activities.
AWF supports union financial transparency, because like any large institution, corruption is often widespread. Openness in the political process ensures accountability and less corruption, as union activity should be subject to the same scrutinizing factors as say, campaign finance is under the McCain-Feingold Act.
October, 2008 - AWF is proud to mention the launch of a new organization dedicated to bi-partisan government transparency at all levels. The Center for Fiscal Accountability (CFA) can be reached at www.fiscalaccountability.org.
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Regulatory Reform: Regulatory reform refers to changes that improve regulatory quality, i.e. enhance the performance, cost-effectiveness or legal quality of regulations and related government formalities. Regulatory reform can mean changes in specific regulations governing markets and sectors. Conversely, it can mean changes to the way regulations are formulated, enacted and enforced. Examples of these changes include: impact analysis techniques, the use of alternatives to regulation, and “sunsetting” laws.
AWF supports regulatory reform because it is a conduit for increased government efficiency, as well as lower cost to government.
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Independent Contractor Reform: Independent Contractor Reform refers to one’s ability to freely contract with someone. Currently, there is a distinction between a contractor and an employee. Employees cannot contract privately and are subject to unionization (especially in states without right to work laws: see above). Independent contractor relationships are privatized relationships between a contractor and a buyer. The contractor provides a good or service to the buyer at a free market cost discussed solely between the two. Many government restrictions still apply to one’s ability to become an independent contractor.
AWF supports independent contractor reform, as it increases the ability for the worker to avoid unionization and increase his ability to conduct a private working relationship with an employer.
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Family Medical Leave Act: FMLA is the Family Medical Leave Act of 1993, authored by Senator Chris Dodd and signed into law by President Bill Clinton. The law recognizes attempts to secure a balance between family, work, and other obligations and provides numerous protections for employees. The law allows an employee to take unpaid leave for up to twelve months due to various conditions. The most noteworthy of these conditions include a physical ability to no longer perform one’s duties on the job, caring for a new child, and caring for a sick child or spouse. Upon returning to work, workers are guaranteed restoration to the same position upon returning to work; if unable to work in the same position, the worker is guaranteed a different position with equal pay, benefits, and responsibility.
AWF opposes the Family Medical Leave Act of 1993 because it interferes with basic economic principles for the employer to establish employee benefits and rights. It is also unnecessary government regulation; furthermore, it eradicates any notion of personal responsibility and accountability to career and life decisions (i.e. to have a family, kids, etc.)
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Immigration Policy: AWF beleives that workers have a right to pursue employment free of government restraints, without invasions of privacy or violation of their civil rights and employers have a right to pursue workers without government coercion or presumption of guilt. Together, workers and employers should be free to establish mutually beneficial employment arrangements, i.e., the government should not interfere with employers’ hiring nor should it regulate workers’ employment decisions.
Additionally, businesses should not be required to enforce laws that are rightly the responsibility of the federal government. Such businesses are ill-equipped to do so, and such requirements place an undue burden on a free economy. Businesses should have a mechanism available to them to be secure from the threat of lawsuits on the one side, or severe government sanctions on the other.
The American economy requires growth in our domestic workforce at levels that are beyond our current rate of natural population growth. The current immigration policy of the U.S. will not allow our workforce to meet the demands of our economy.
AWF supports broad and comprehensive immigration reform as well as the expansion of all visa caps.
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Worker Protection Caucus: The Worker Protection Caucus was established to identify and create a network of state legislators who firmly believe in the rights of the worker and are committed to stopping anti-worker legislation by advocating free and open labor markets. The goal of the Caucus is to have a Caucus Chair in each chamber of the state legislature (with the exception of Nebraska). The Caucus provides a nation-wide, state-based network of members who can not only work together, but relay information to us just as we provide assistance and information to them to aid in their efforts.
Click here for a printable PDF of the Worker Protection Caucus mission statement.
October, 2008 - State Caucus map coming soon.
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Coalition Building: The Alliance for Worker Freedom is fully committed to working with several state and national groups to produce the highest quality of work with the greatest impact. AWF is a proud member of several coalitions that focus on issues ranging from contract fairness to immigration.
- AIM Coalition
- Coalition for a Conservative Majority
- Coalition for a Democratic Workplace
- The Fair Competition Coalition
- Essential Worker Immigration Coalition
- H-2B Workforce Coalition
- OSHA Fairness Coalition
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Worker 401(k) Values: Every worker in America should be aware of their retirement and pension activity. The pending Presidential election and the shift in Congress that happened in 2006 all have a direct impact on the value of your 401(k). Please use the below application to enter in the current value of your 401(k) and see how various political events and upcoming changes will affect your worth. You can choose between the tax plans and income treatment under a McCain or Obama administration, under the proposed Democrat Congressional plan, and under Americans for Tax Reform's plan, a leading national taxpayer advocacy organization.
