Sheldon Richman on Right-to-Work Laws and the Modern Classical-Liberal Tradition

It's not widely known, but an earlier generation of libertarians condemned so-called right-to-work laws as anti-market, says Sheldon Richman.

The New Deal, rather than being anti-business and pro-labor, actually tamed labor by bringing "responsible" union leaders to the conference table as junior partners. The Wagner-Taft-Hartley regime imposed restrictions on labor activity and required labor leaders to police their members' compliance with union contracts. The final Wagner Act had elements that big business disliked, but it was the business elite nonetheless that laid the groundwork for federal management of labor relations.