I think we should amend and modernize Taft-Hartley, not repeal it. I agree with Senator Spiral when says it is not 1947, but it is also not 1933-1946 either.
The economy has changed and the biggest thing that has crippled unions was not Taft-Hartley. Unions reached their peak in the 25 years following its passage. What crippled public unions was the intense competition and threat of stiff competition from foreign production and second of all the the strong push to outsource manufacturing as a way to combat that.
Public sector unions began their sharp decline in the 1970's, with the decline in manufacturing. That is why most of the labor movement is now focused on public sector unions, where there is no outsourcing/foreign competition risk and the people on the other side of the negotiating table is politicians who in many cases are elected by the unions, which is frankly disturbing in that there is no counter argument at all and the taxpayers get hosed.
I have always been somewhat of a moderate on labor issues within the Federalist Party, as Senator Spiral will recall back when he was a libertarian and voting to my right on the issue four years ago. But that being said, I think, while the objective is noble, I think this is the wrong way to address the problem in question.
As always, you have quite the long memory.
You're right that Taft-Hartley wasn't a stake through the heart of unions, since they still grew in the following decades, but the effect of this legislation is arguably stronger now than a period like the '60s. The reason for that is how diminished public sector unions are now compared to then. Outsourcing and the other major changes of the Atlasian economy have indeed left us in a place where workers aren't nearly as secure as before, and I hope we can address those issues together with separate legislation in the near future. For the time being, however, the crux of Taft-Hartley's passing has been made irrelevant: It was meant to prevent labor from overtaking industry at a time when unions were rapidly expanding. Is that still true today?
Since, as has been stated, we passed the Power Act not too long ago, will this bill have any additional meaningful impact?
This bill would legalize union shops nationwide, thereby rolling back right-to-work laws. Another provision of Taft-Hartley limits the liability of employers toward supervisors who engage in harassment of union members.