Chances are at your place of work there are a series of posters that discuss everything from minimum wage, whistleblower’s protection, to laws related to child labor. Most of what you read there, as well as many other employment related regulations, are on the books thanks the work of unions and labor activists.

Making the rounds here in Maine are at least two pieces of legislation (LD 788, Maine’s Right to Work Legislation and LD 309) that will weaken our economy, prop up big business and give workers at unionized workplaces the same benefits as union members without paying dues or fees for representation.

In so-called Right to Work states, private sector workers can enjoy all the benefits in a union contract and all the benefits of union representation without joining the union and without paying anything. If an employee feels that he/she has been unfairly treated (and the contract was violated), then he can demand the union represent him. If the union fails to do so, the workers can sue the union for failing to represent them fairly. Union members who pay dues or nonmember workers in the bargaining unit who pay what are called “agency fees” foot the bill. Not very fair, is it?

Since most public sector workers are covered by state labor laws, the state could remove the duty to represent nonmembers in a union bargaining unit. The suggestion that removing the duty to represent nonmembers is somehow making it fair is intentionally misleading. The union will continue to negotiate wages, benefits and working conditions for their members.

For public sector workers at the state level, states who have passed Right to Work have considered the following: Government entities could give the same the same or better wages, benefits and working conditions to the nonmembers. Or state and local government could negotiate with the union for union members and negotiate with other workers who would try to get a better deal. Either of these scenarios are an effort to diminish or demean union presence. In the end these approaches breed employee resentment, raise costs for the union and the government and drive a wedge between employees and the employer.

Your local legislator will tell you Right to Work laws are good for you, but take a look at who is leading the fight, the Virginia-based Right To Work Legal Defense Fund. Key funders include Charles G. Koch (the money behind Wisconsin’s effort to end collective bargaining), Sam Walton’s family (founder of Wal-Mart who has spent millions to keep Wal-Mart employees from unionizing) and a host of union-busting foundations, groups and individuals. Right to Work legislation exists for the sole purpose of breaking up unions and draining their resources. Wal-Mart and Koch, hardly the face of Maine.

The fees that nonunion employees pay unions go toward costs associated with collective bargaining. In right-to-work states, unions negotiate and bargain on behalf of their members as well as nonpaying, nonunion employees. The net result is that unions have fewer funds available for other initiatives.

While undermining unions, “Right to Work” laws drive down wages and benefits for all workers, weaken job security protections and grievance procedures that require unionized employers to have a just cause for disciplining or discharging an employee.

States that have passed legislation similar to LD 309 and LD 788 tend to have lower standards of living. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, on average, workers in states with “Right to Work” laws earn $5,538 a year less than workers in states without these laws. Right-to-Work states spend $2,671 less per pupil on elementary and secondary education than free-bargaining states. The most disturbing trend comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the rate of workplace deaths is 52.9 percent higher in states with Right-to-Work laws.

The legacy of the labor movement is felt all across America — from the notion of Saturday/Sunday weekends, to fair and equal wages, the elimination of sweat shops, humane conditions on the farm field and the factory floor, the eight-hour workday (and so on). They all have their roots in organized labor and the ability for groups of individuals to collectively bargain and organize.

Our nation’s survival and ability to emerge from the dark days of the 1920s and 30s was in large part thanks to FDR signing of the National Industrial Recovery Act. This landmark legislation includes the following passage, “Employees shall have the right to organize and bargain collectively through representative of their own choosing, and shall be free from the interference, restraint, or coercion of employers.”

Right to Work laws are an attack on all Maine workers. When the unions are gone or damaged, who will be left to stick up for the working middle class?