Why Strike if No Work?

A recent administrative decision undermined a worker’s fundamental rights to strike. This decision found that an employer could be entitled to damages even when no actual strike occurred. SB 857 restores this administrative over-reach and helps ensure that workers have the right to strike for better working conditions and fair pay. -- From Sen. Lieu's Website

Workers have a right to organize. The First Amendment protects the citizens' basic right to assemble peaceably.

However, public sector works are paid with taxpayer money, and they serve everyone. As  President Reagan commented when the federal air-traffic controllers reneged on their agreement and went on strike, government cannot stop the assembly line. Public sector unions must find another way to address serious grievances instead of staging a strike. Every public employee must be well-versed in his responsibility to the state and the citizen, regardless of the merits of his complaints.

Besides, strike protections actually discourage future employment and investment. Businesses want to protect their bottom line. The very notion of "fair pay" exposes the long-standing ignorance of the political class in Sacramento, which seeks a headline rather than a meaningful policies to stimulate economic growth.

Senator Lieu, when will you press for California to become a right-to-work state like Indiana? The Hoosier state is witnessing a significant increase in entrepreneurial investment and employment. Every employee should enjoy the freedom to join or decline membership in a union, and to do so without having a portion of their paycheck automatically deducted.