Two very nice union representatives knocked on my door last week. Anticipating an unfavorable ruling in Janus v. AFSCME, they asked me, a “fair share” state employee, to join the union. I didn’t have to think twice. Sign me up, I told them. I’m with you.
Although I don’t believe, as Mr. Janus does, that paying fair share dues – fees paid to the union by non-union employees – infringes on my First Amendment rights, I also don’t think that unions are perfect. I’ve heard all the arguments against unions: that they make this country less competitive. That higher costs of union salaries and benefits are passed on to consumers and taxpayers. That they unfairly protect incompetent workers.
And yet.
I joined the union because, despite its flaws, it is an organization that is dedicated to advocating for the rights and well-being of working people, and I am a working person.