The socialistic mindset blames it on mean old business owners who just don’t want to deal with a labor union and intimidate workers so that they’re afraid to advocate unionization. An example is here. It follows that we need “tougher” laws to protect “worker rights.”

I’m willing to assume that it is true that there are employers who are so adamantly against collective bargaining that they will threaten workers who show any sign of wanting a union. I also agree that the law is the problem. The change we need, however, is not to “strengthen” the existing National Labor Relations Act, but to repeal it. That would, among other things, get rid of the mandate that the employer engage in “good faith” bargaining with union representatives. If a business owner does not want to have to deal with a union, he shouldn’t have to. It is no more a violation of workers’ rights for the company to say, “we will only negotiate with you individually,” than it is to say, “you have to show up for work at 8 AM.” Individuals who badly want union representation or badly want to sleep late, can simply choose to contract with some other employer.

In the absence of coercive federal legislation that helps unions stay in power once they have managed to obtain certification, either through a secret ballot election or through the dubious and often corrupt “card check” procedure, unions would still exist, but they would probably have to become much more sensible and worker-oriented. The old-style unionism produced some above-market wages in industries with little competition, but there aren’t many of those left. It also produced a great deal of corruption, high living for officials, and political activism that many workers disliked. A lot of workers don’t want unions because they correctly believe that they take a hefty chunk of their earnings, squander the money on political empire-building and fat expense accounts, and put their jobs at risk with their obstruction of efficiency.