[Hemingway's Ghost]

Help me to understand something . . .

I've never worked a job in a union shop, or where there was even a hint of a union, so I'm not as up on this stuff as I would like to be. Are there actually instances where an employee is forced against his or her will to join a union in order to perform a certain job?

If so, what types of jobs are these?

[cableguymn]

YES!

If I wanted to work for a company I applied with I HAD to join the IBEW.

This is in a state with no right to work law.

[NonValueAdded]

"Closed shops" have a mandatory union membership requirement to work there and "agency shops" require you to pay for the collective bargaining costs incurred by the union even if you do not join. In the agency shop you have to be on your toes to be sure your fees do not go towards the union's political causes.

This varies state-by-state and the type of job doesn't matter. If the employees choose to organize in a closed shop state, then it is "join or die." That is why the unions so desperately wanted "card check."

[OL Hickory]

“Help me to understand something . . .

I’ve never worked a job in a union shop, or where there was even a hint of a union, so I’m not as up on this stuff as I would like to be. Are there actually instances where an employee is forced against his or her will to join a union in order to perform a certain job?

WELCOME TO MOST OF NJ MY FRIEND!!!..YOU cannot work unless you join a union...Those of us in non-union shops get unionized threats every year..but we just tell them to go away!!