Shouldn’t hardworking and dedicated unionized employees be allowed to earn bonuses, raises or other merit-based rewards from thankful employers? Especially during these tight economic times, when productivity and efficiency are at an even higher premium?

Not according to Big Labor and jealous union bosses, who prefer that workers’ rewards flow only through them.

Unfortunately, current labor law protects this state of affairs. Unions are empowered to negotiate strict pay structures for covered workers through one-size-fits-all collective bargaining agreements, regardless of worker productivity. Consequently, employers aren’t allowed to pay unionized employees any reward or bonus above what the governing collective bargaining agreement provides. Union bosses obviously adore this provision, even though it artificially caps employees’ pay, because it ensures that employers and supervisors must deal exclusively with unions on such matters.

According to Big Labor, of course, this makes perfect sense. Allowing employers to reward exceptional employees, they say, would be a slippery slope toward subversion of the union’s exclusive bargaining position.

In union bosses’ view, employees should instead remain captive dependents who receive only those wages and benefits that the union itself has negotiated with employers. In other words, employees are only allowed to share in the common benefits that every other employee receives, regardless of effort. Otherwise, they claim, employees who are “favored” by employers could theoretically be enticed to turn against the union by receiving such merit-based rewards.

Accordingly, employers are required by law to negotiate with union bureaucracies if they wish to pay workers any amount higher than the contract allows.

And inexplicably, unions rarely allow these merit bonuses when employers propose them. No matter how hard they work. No matter how well they perform.

This just proves, once again, that workers’ interests and union bosses’ interests are two very different things.

As a result, over 8.5 million private-sector union employees face a wage ceiling, regardless of their productivity and efficiency. This stifles incentives for employees to work harder and be more productive, and encourages a “go along to get along” mentality. Moreover, these limitations hit working-class Americans particularly hard, because they tend to constitute the rank-and-file union workforce.

But Congressman Tom McClintock (R – California) wants to change that indefensible state of affairs.

Representative McClintock is introducing legislation appropriately entitled the “Rewarding Achievement and Incentivizing Successful Employees” (RAISE) Act, which will amend the National Labor Relations Act and eliminate the de facto pay cap imposed on working Americans through stifling collective-bargaining agreements. Very simply, the RAISE Act would allow employers to reward high-achieving employees with raises, bonuses or other compensation regardless of limitations contained within a collective bargaining agreement.

James Sherk of the Heritage Foundation estimates that this bill would allow average union workers the opportunity to earn an additional $2,600 to $4,300 per year. Mr. Sherk reached this conclusion after objectively comparing employees who are not currently limited by collective bargaining agreement wage caps versus workers who are, and the results are astounding.

Notably, this amount is three to five times higher than the tax cuts that President Obama promised to middle class families. Further, these incentives would not only generate additional business productivity, but also circulate the increased wages back into the American economy.

In other words, a classic win-win-win proposal.

Don’t hold your breath, however, for Big Labor or its liberal servants within Congress and the White House to accept this reasonable proposal.

Instead, they will allege that employers will secretly use merit-based bonuses to reward anti-union employees while punishing pro-union employees, but this is simply false. The myriad of anti-discrimination protections within federal and state labor laws won’t be affected by the RAISE Act.

Don’t fall for Big Labor’s scare tactics. In today’s economy, it is particularly critical that we provide incentives for American workers to increase productivity and efficiency, lest even more industries and jobs move overseas. This is particularly true of manufacturing jobs, which liberals so often claim to value.

The RAISE Act will eliminate stifling pay limits on American workers, and help ensure greater creativity, earnings and prosperity.

Why would Big Labor, liberals in Congress and the Obama Administration, which claim to have workers’ interests at heart, oppose that?