Right-To-Work Laws Work : The People Chose

One thing that scare the hell out of union leaders and the progressive socialist is giving the people the right to chose. Once the people have the opportunity to deicide what is best for themselves it becomes clear those that seek to control outcomes for others fade away.

Wisconsin's Act 10 law brought choice to the union members and the result was the union couldn't get enough members to sign on to get recertification. Who knew?

Right-to-Work Laws Improve Economies
Source: Erin Shannon, "Frequently Asked Questions About Right-to-Work Laws," Washington Policy Center, December 2014.

December 9, 2014

Twenty-four states have right-to-work laws, which allow an employee in a unionized workplace to choose not to join a union or pay union dues. In states without right-to-work laws, an employee in a unionized workplace can be forced to pay union dues as a condition of his employment, even if that union donates to political causes with which the employee disagrees.

Besides protecting employees' freedom of association, right-to-work laws are good for state economies. Erin Shannon, director of the Center for Small Business at the Washington Policy Center, explains:

• It is no coincidence that the top three states for new manufacturing jobs are states with right-to-work protections: Michigan, Texas and Indiana. When looking for a new business location, half of all manufacturers automatically screen out states without right-to-work laws.
• States with right-to-work protections have seen employment growth over the last 10 years, while employment in states without those protections has fallen. Shannon notes the unemployment rate in right-to-work states is 10 percent lower than the rate in other states.
• Economic growth rates increase by 11.5 percent due to right-to-work laws, according to a study from the Competitive Enterprise Institute.

Critics of right-to-work laws argue that those states have lower wages. While true, Shannon says that right-to-work states also have lower costs of living, noting that 20 of the top 25 states with the lowest costs of living are right-to-work states. Taking cost of living into account, employees in right-to-work states have higher disposable incomes than employees in other states.