A new survey finds an overwhelming majority of rank-and-file union members across the country believe employees should have the freedom to represent themselves in negotiations with their employer if they choose not to be part of a union.

Mackinac Center for Public Policy’s Director of Labor Policy Vinnie Vernuccio wrote about his idea to make workplaces more fair and free environments in an op-ed published by The Hill. Along with his co-author and Mackinac Center Adjunct Scholar Jeremy Lott, Vernuccio explains that Worker’s Choice benefits individual workers, unions and employers.

Being able to bargain directly with their employer will allow these workers to get out of a one-size-fits-all contract and negotiate for wages and working conditions tailored to their individual needs. The seniority system most union contracts mandate only allows workers to receive a raise by logging another year on the job. But if a worker wants to be rewarded for how hard she works, she could use Worker’s Choice to negotiate for merit pay.

The National Employee Freedom Week campaign — running this week to inform employees of their rights — polled union members on this concept and found that nearly 70 percent of union members think workers should be able to represent themselves if they opt out of paying union dues. When Vernuccio explained the concept to Mary Kissel on the Wall Street Journal’s Opinion Journal, she called the concept “common sense.”

Read the full op-ed at The Hill here.

Watch the full interview with the Wall Street Journal here.

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