Right to Work Laws; Republican Answer to a Better Workforce

Right to work laws have been enacted in 22 states. Although these laws differ from state to state, the basic tenet is that employers do not have the right to require union membership as a requirement for employment, and employees cannot be fired for refusing to join a union or pay union dues. The 22 states that have enacted right to work laws are politically conservative and lean toward a Republican Party majority in their legislatures. State Constitutions in 5 "right to work" states have been amended to reflect these laws. Ohio, Indiana and Missouri, states with Republican legislative majorities are all considering some form of "right to work" bills.

These actions are a far cry from the Republican dogma of let free enterprise work and keep government out of business affairs. These statutes intrude on business owners' right to run their businesses as they see fit and can even send them to jail for doing so. All in the name of workers' rights and balanced budgets. Or is it in the name of big business' campaign contributions?

Who really benefits from these laws and who pays for them? The big winners are the big corporations that no longer have to honor contracts they entered into with their union workers, and workers pay with decreased wages and benefits. Politicians that vote in favor of these statutes win with larger campaign contributions and lobbyist favors, while workers pay with higher on the job accident rates. Business owners also pay by having a work force that is poorly trained and is less productive than their counterparts in states that don't curtail the right to join a union.

There is no free lunch. Someone pays for it, and in the case of "right to work" laws it is easy to see who is making the payments; businesses, workers and taxpayers. When workers are stripped of their rights to union representation, businesses lose through higher accident related costs and a less productive workforce. Taxpayers lose through higher taxes because wages are lower so tax revenues follow and who else is there to take up the slack when workers can't afford medical insurance? The bill is coming due; "right" to work laws are some of the most intrusive and counterproductive statutes passed in any state in the Union and create a lose/lose/lose situation.

Sources:

Wages and benefits: http://usgovinfo.about.com/cs/jobsemployment/a/unionwages.htm

On the job accident rates: http://acpp.info/2009/07/29/research-shows-union-jobs-are-safer/

Worker productivity: http://www3.sympatico.ca/n.rieck/docs/unions.html