Class 17 – Chapter 6 – Moral Rights in the Workplace PDF

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Class 17 – Chapter 6 – Moral Rights in the Workplace 6.2 The Right To Workplace Mario A moral right Work secures primary goods, food, shelter, healthcare Essential Part of human Well-Being Instrumental Value – good for...survival Should we recognize a job as a human right? But not everything should be a human right. If a job is a human right, there is responsibility to provide all people with a job. But is the private employer’s responsibility or the government’s responsibility? Discussion Question: Should a job be considered a human right? Tough question. Human’s have a right to make money and live their life. So indirectly a job is a human right. But whose obligation is it? Government’s responsibility to make sure people are able to work. But how can you force private employers to hire people? Social Security – What is it? We file taxes for social security. We can’t work as well when we are in our senior years. So this is a way to provide that instrumental value of a job for those that retire. Instrumental Value – The meaning and value of a job is based on the consequences of having that job. A job helps us to get primary goods, food, clothing, shelter, and health care. When basing on understanding on instrumental value, a job is a means to an end. Intrinsic Value – The meaning and value of a job is based on the inherent qualities of just having that job. A job is a good thing in itself – helps our self-esteem, sense of accomplishment, develops our skills and abilities, connects us with others, allows us to express ourselves, give us purpose, a way to contribute to the world, etc. Unemployment Insurance – a temporary period of time where someone who has a lost a job can receive some of the instrumental value of a job (unemployment money) while they search for a new job. Some unemployment offers training and help in trying to secure a new job. Medicaide and Food Stamps – which offer those without jobs, or jobs that pay well below a subsistence level so assistance in these instrumental goods from a job like food, shelter, healthcare.

The Right To Work There at many laws around the country that are called “Right to Work” laws, and states with these laws are called “Right to Work States.” Unions and Union Membership Union is a collective bargaining organization of employees. So all the employees together negotiate, bargain, and compromise with the owner. Why do we have unions? A single employee holds little negotiating power against the owner of a business. So this can be balanced out, when the employees join together. The “equality” argument. The business owner naturally has more power compared to a single employee and this equalizes the power disparity when negotiating the workplace. This follows the free market model, where competition decides what is best. To make the two sides more competitive, the employees unite in a union. So for unions to operate, they need to collect dues from each of the employees. So in many states, union due collecting is automatic, mandatory for a unionized job. So in other states, which come to be called “Right to Work State,” you cannot compel anyone to join a union and pay dues. Unions are a response to the harsh conditions that were instituted during the beginning of industrialization – very unsafe work conditions, very long hours, very low wages, lots of child labor, etc. Work began to organize together, to fight back against these conditions. It is only from the work of unions that limits were placed on work hours, child labor laws were instituted, a minimum wage was formed, and wages were raised about that, that work environments were made safer. Union have brought about benefits for workers. The “free-rider” argument – if you are benefiting from the work of the union, then you need to pay for those benefits. It is a fact that jobs where there are unions, you make more money, you have better healthcare, you have more protections. It is federal law that workers have the right to unionize if they so choose. Another sense of the Right to Work is as a Right to a Job. Traditional Model of Work is based on the instrumental value of work.

Human Fulfillment Model of Work is based on the intrinsic value of work. Here, when we talk about a right, we are talking about a responsibility to insure someone has a job. But whose responsibility is this? A Kantian principle in ethics is that “Ought implies can.” So there are issues of whether this is possible, if we place this responsibility in the hands of private business owners and corporations. Reply to this problem of private/corporate responsibility is that it could be a government responsibility. “Ought implies can.” Modified Version of Government Responsibility This government responsibility is a last resort. Social Safety Net – the government steps in when things are really bad. The issue here is that this programs, policies only address the instrumental value of a job and not the intrinsic value. Liberal Theory of Work – with this meaning of work, what would be the responsibility for a Right to a Job. A right to job security. Should we have some security in having a job once we get one? One solution is a right to due process. So you have a reason and/or go through a set of steps before you fire someone. Right to meaningful work, work that preserves the employees autonomy and independence. (Being an employee doesn’t make one a slave.) 6.3 Employment at Will Elmira Most employment law is based on Laissez-faire legal perspective. If the there is not specific agreement, it is consider at will employment at will – one can be fired or one can quit at any time employees forced to choose between a job or some other good. There are laws to restrict employers in what they can do. Different Protections that give employees rights

Civil Rights Laws – protect workers from discrimination, you can’t be fired or not hired based race or sex or religion or sexual orientation. Wagner Act – protecting people with disability OSHA – Occupational Safety and Health Act ADA – American Disability Act “Public Policy” exemption – you can’t fire someone for being jury duty, or taking part in national guard training, or for refusing to break a law. Implied Contract exemption – you can’t fire someone or violate someone for something that business has included in their work documents like employee handbooks or the posted job description. Implied Covenant of good faith – you can’t suddenly change the rules in your favor or try to avoid something that you have promised. You can’t fire people right before bonus time. Employees still have the burden of proof in court. Employment at will is background legal doctrine. Due process can reverse this burden. Employer must show or demonstrate. Discussion Question: Are these protections enough or are employees still working at will? So the way the rules are set up one has to work many hours just to have health care. Is it worth it? In this section we have legal history. Payne v. Western & Atlantic RR Co. (1884) in the Supreme Court of Tennesee. “all may dismiss their employee(s) at will, be they many or few, for good cause, for no cause, or even for causes morally wrong.” This established the Employment at will doctrine. With this base doctrine, employees have no rights. The history of labor law is history of stepping back from the At-Will doctrine. First we have rules that protect workers from organizing into union. So you can’t fire someone for attempting to form a union....