Kamala Harris calls for a federal ban on right-to-work laws

Now that more than half of the states have enacted laws outlawing compulsory union membership in order to get a job, labor union membership has declined, and in tandem, so has the flow of money to Democrats (nearly all union political donations go to donkeys). Over the weekend, presidential candidate Kamala Harris joined Bernie Sanders in calling for an end to this freedom of association. Via the Wall Street Journal:

"The barriers to organized labor being able to organize and strike are something that have grown over a period of time," Ms. Harris told a forum co-sponsored by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) on Saturday. She added that she'd use the bully pulpit and executive authority as President to promote "banning right-to-work laws." That's pretty vague. Executive orders from a president can't nullify state laws. She'd need federal legislation, which is unlikely unless Democrats gain control of the Senate and abolish the filibuster. It could happen, but it is unlikely to be an appealing plank in the party's platform. Maybe that's why Harris is keeping it vague. As the Journal notes, her use of the language "barriers to organized labor" is factually incorrect: That's an odd policy juxtaposition because right-to-work laws pose no barrier to union organizing. Unions can still hold secret-ballot elections to organize workers at plant sites in the 27 states that have passed right-to-work laws. The laws merely let individual workers opt out of union membership, which means unions can't coerce people to join and pay dues to the union leadership. Unions are hardly deterred from striking these days, as we've seen in the proliferation of teachers' strikes across the country. Teacher unions are among the biggest components of the union movement, and Harris already has pandered to them: Her first big policy proposal, unveiled in March, would have the feds give teachers across the country an average pay raise of $13,500 a year. That payoff to the teachers unions would cost federal taxpayers some $315 billion over 10 years, not including what states would have to contribute to qualify for these Harris Grants. Photo credit Office of Senator Kamala Harris (cropped).