Newsletters

March 1, 2011

'Wrongful Use of…Violence and Fear'

(Source: February 2011 NRTWC Newsletter) Subscribe to The National Right to Work Committee® by Email Latest Indictments Show Mob Retains Grip on Several Major Unions Just last September, Tommy Leonardis, president of the Newark-based Local 1235 of the International Longshoremen's Association (ILA), attended a hearing at the New Jersey Capitol in Trenton to protest a state program targeting Organized Crime in the New York harbor region. Mr. Leonardis insisted Mafia infiltration of the ILA and the waterfront was a thing of the past, grumbling that the program unfairly "tars the industry as mob-influenced." But last month, a federal grand jury issued an 82-page indictment charging that it is in reality ILA union bosses like Mr. Leonardis who continue to blacken the reputation of the New Jersey waterfront. The indictment accuses Mr. Leonardis, along with former Local 1235 Presidents Albert Cernadas and Vincent Aulisi, the latter's son Eddie, and Nuncio LaGrasso, vice president of another Newark-based ILA local, as well as other conspirators, of running an extortion operation in which unionized workers were the principal victims. Specifically, Mr. Leonardis and other conspirators "agreed to obtain property of ILA members, that is: money belonging to ILA union members, with their consent, which consent was to be induced by wrongful use of actual and threatened force, violence and fear." One especially egregious form of extortion of which several ILA union-boss defendants are accused is the collection of "Christmas tribute" money from dockworkers after they received year-end bonuses. This tribute was allegedly funneled into Genovese Crime Family coffers as well as ILA chieftains' pockets. A Foreman Who Protests Shakedowns May Need 'to Be Physically Assaulted’ Federal prosecutors' January 20 arrests of half-a-dozen current and former ILA officials and their cohorts were only part of a larger takedown that day. Also indicted was Ralph Scopo Jr., the former president of Local 6A of the New York Cement and Concrete Workers union. This local is affiliated with the notorious Laborers International Union of North America (LIUNA). The indictment in which Mr. Scopo is named alleges that he and his son, Ralph III, current union president and an unindicted coconspirator, have run Local 6A as a front for the Colombo Crime Family. Among the favors done by Local 6A kingpins for the Colombos was the "coffee boy" scam. In this shakedown, occurring at every 6A-controlled job site, workers were forced to buy all their lunches, snacks and drinks from a mob-selected vendor who kicked back $250 a week to the Colombos. When one foreman protested such extortion, Ralph Jr. escorted him to a meeting with Colombo captain Dino Calabro and Ralph III. According to the indictment, during the meeting Ralph Jr. explained to Mr. Calabro that he had brought along Ralph III in case the foreman "needed to be physically assaulted." Forced Unionism Culpable For 'Almost Every Antisocial Aspect in Labor Relations' "The ILA’s New Jersey locals and LIUNA Local 6A are representative of many other union operations that have remained crooked, decade after decade, despite multiple crackdowns by law enforcement," noted National Right to Work Committee Vice President Matthew Leen.

February 15, 2011

AFL-CIO President Applauds Obama Bureaucrats

Subscribe to The National Right to Work Committee® by Email Kudos Go to NLRB Members For 'Encouraging' Monopolistic Unionism The four current members of the powerful National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), all appointed or reappointed by President Barack Obama, are poised to make a series of major decisions expanding forced unionism over the next few months. Richard Trumka, president of the AFL-CIO union conglomerate, is licking his chops at this prospect -- and it's no mystery why he and other union kingpins are eager to see the Obama NLRB reinvent the federal rules for unionization campaigns. Chairman Wilma Liebman, an NLRB veteran first appointed to the agency in 1997 by then-President Bill Clinton and elevated to the leadership position by Mr. Obama in 2009, is an ex-Teamster union lawyer. And Obama appointees Craig Becker and Mark Pearce both come out of union legal ranks. More important, Ms. Liebman, Mr. Becker, and Mr. Pearce have all already demonstrated a willingness to go well beyond the pro-forced unionism letter of federal labor law to make it as difficult as they can for independent employees and businesses to avoid union monopoly control. Federal Labor Law Itself Tramples Freedom of Independent-Minded Workers Only one current NLRB member, former GOP Senate staffer Brian Hayes, has shown any real reluctance to rewrite the provisions of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) whenever they turn out to be inconvenient for union organizers. But Mr. Hayes is evidently destined to be perpetually outvoted by the three forced-unionism zealots who now sit with him on the Board. (The fifth NLRB seat remains vacant as this month's Right to Work Newsletter goes to press.)

February 11, 2011

February 2011 issue of The National Right To Work Committee Newsletter now available

The February 2011 issue of The National Right to Work Committee Newsletter is available for download in an Adobe pdf format for your convenience to read and share. It is the Committee’s official newsletter publication that provides an excellent monthly…

January 30, 2011

Right to Work's Electoral Clout Rising

(Source: January 2011 NRTWC Newsletter) When Ronald Reagan was first elected, just 173 electoral votes of the 270 needed to become President came from Right to Work states. By the time Barack Obama again faces the voters, the number will be 220. Ongoing Shift in U.S. Economic Base Has Political Implications  For many years, states that have Right to Work laws protecting employees from being fired for refusal to join or pay dues or fees to an unwanted union have benefited from private-sector job and personal income growth that are, in the aggregate, well above the national average.  Conversely, states that do not protect employees from forced unionism have collectively endured sub-par growth.  At the turn of every decade, the U.S. Census Bureau tacitly confirms that America's economic base is shifting from forced-unionism states to Right to Work states when it reapportions our nationwide political map.  Such was the case again last month.  On December 21, the Census Bureau announced that, after the 2012 elections, Right to Work Texas will gain four U.S. House seats, Right to Work Florida will add two, and five other Right to Work states -- Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, South Carolina and Utah -- will pick up one seat apiece.  Millions of Workers 'Vote With Their Feet' For Right to Work  Starting at the beginning of 2012, Right to Work states will hold 176 out of 435 House seats, compared to the 167 they hold at present, and the 133 they held in 1980, when Ronald Reagan was first elected President.  When it comes to the Electoral College, by which Presidents are officially chosen under the U.S. Constitution, just 162 electoral votes of the 270 needed to become President came from Right to Work states in 1968, the year of Richard Nixon's first successful White House bid.  In the 2000 showdown between George W. Bush and Al Gore, Right to Work states cast 195 electoral votes. By 2012, when President Obama next faces the voters, the Right to Work share will rise to 220. 

January 30, 2011

Right to Work's Electoral Clout Rising

(Source: January 2011 NRTWC Newsletter) When Ronald Reagan was first elected, just 173 electoral votes of the 270 needed to become President came from Right to Work states. By the time Barack Obama again faces the voters, the number will be 220. Ongoing Shift in U.S. Economic Base Has Political Implications  For many years, states that have Right to Work laws protecting employees from being fired for refusal to join or pay dues or fees to an unwanted union have benefited from private-sector job and personal income growth that are, in the aggregate, well above the national average.  Conversely, states that do not protect employees from forced unionism have collectively endured sub-par growth.  At the turn of every decade, the U.S. Census Bureau tacitly confirms that America's economic base is shifting from forced-unionism states to Right to Work states when it reapportions our nationwide political map.  Such was the case again last month.  On December 21, the Census Bureau announced that, after the 2012 elections, Right to Work Texas will gain four U.S. House seats, Right to Work Florida will add two, and five other Right to Work states -- Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, South Carolina and Utah -- will pick up one seat apiece.  Millions of Workers 'Vote With Their Feet' For Right to Work  Starting at the beginning of 2012, Right to Work states will hold 176 out of 435 House seats, compared to the 167 they hold at present, and the 133 they held in 1980, when Ronald Reagan was first elected President.  When it comes to the Electoral College, by which Presidents are officially chosen under the U.S. Constitution, just 162 electoral votes of the 270 needed to become President came from Right to Work states in 1968, the year of Richard Nixon's first successful White House bid.  In the 2000 showdown between George W. Bush and Al Gore, Right to Work states cast 195 electoral votes. By 2012, when President Obama next faces the voters, the Right to Work share will rise to 220. 

January 29, 2011

Momentum Builds For National Right to Work Act

(Source: January 2011 NRTWC Newsletter) Forced-Dues Clauses in Federal Labor Statutes Ripe For Repeal There appears to be light at the end of the forced-unionism tunnel for America's workers. In last year's elections, disgusted voters repudiated the Big Labor agenda. Now Right to Work advocates are calling on the incoming Republican U.S. House leadership to allow hearings and a vote on national Right to Work legislation some time during the 2011-2012 Congress. Although Right to Work measures have repeatedly been introduced over the years, House leaders in both parties have thwarted efforts to hold roll-call votes on legislation striking out the provisions in federal law that force millions of workers from coast to coast to pay union dues just to keep their jobs. "Naturally, Big Labor House Democrats don't want to cast public votes to force American workers to continue to subsidize their campaigns with their union dues and fees," observed Greg Mourad, legislative director for the National Right to Work Committee. "What's really strange is that, in the past, GOP speakers have been willing to let union-label Democrat politicians off the hook. But Right to Work supporters are already mobilizing to bring about a different outcome in the 112th Congress." Forced Dues Enshrined In Federal Labor Law The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), which Congress first adopted in 1935 and has since only modified, not fundamentally changed, actually contains specific language protecting employee rights to join or refrain from joining a union. But it's just a cruel joke. Why? Congress gutted its pious proclamations of worker freedom with "exceptions" such as the one tacked on to NLRA Section 7. Section 7's conclusion has trampled workers' freedom for three-quarters of a century, and is one of the most cynical exercises in legislative deception on record.

January 27, 2011

Big Labor Taking 'Silver' Out of 'Silver State'

(Source: January 2011 NRTWC Newsletter) Mark Mix: Big Government is Big Labor's bread and butter in Nevada and many other states. This winter, as state legislatures across the country prepare to go into session, many elected officials are looking for a practical way to get skyrocketing tax expenditures for compensation of state and local government employees under control. For many years now, Big Labor featherbedding and counterproductive work rules have been key factors in causing government payrolls to spiral at an alarming rate. In fact, according to inflation-adjusted U.S. Commerce Department data, taxpayers' aggregate real costs for compensation of state and local government employees soared by almost 30% between 1998 and 2008 -- an increase more than 50% greater than the total real growth of private-employee compensation. In 2009, even as the nation's economy endured a severe recession, state and local employee real compensation rose by 2.6%. Meanwhile, businesses whose revenues were plummeting had no choice but to cut back real compensation for private-sector employees by 4.3%. Right to Work States Haven't Been Immune From Government Union Virus And last fall, American voters expressed their alarm at this trend by ousting hundreds of government union boss-friendly legislators in state after state and replacing them with candidates pledging to revoke union monopoly-bargaining policies that favor government employment growth over business job growth.

January 27, 2011

Big Labor Taking 'Silver' Out of 'Silver State'

(Source: January 2011 NRTWC Newsletter) Mark Mix: Big Government is Big Labor's bread and butter in Nevada and many other states. This winter, as state legislatures across the country prepare to go into session, many elected officials are looking for a practical way to get skyrocketing tax expenditures for compensation of state and local government employees under control. For many years now, Big Labor featherbedding and counterproductive work rules have been key factors in causing government payrolls to spiral at an alarming rate. In fact, according to inflation-adjusted U.S. Commerce Department data, taxpayers' aggregate real costs for compensation of state and local government employees soared by almost 30% between 1998 and 2008 -- an increase more than 50% greater than the total real growth of private-employee compensation. In 2009, even as the nation's economy endured a severe recession, state and local employee real compensation rose by 2.6%. Meanwhile, businesses whose revenues were plummeting had no choice but to cut back real compensation for private-sector employees by 4.3%. Right to Work States Haven't Been Immune From Government Union Virus And last fall, American voters expressed their alarm at this trend by ousting hundreds of government union boss-friendly legislators in state after state and replacing them with candidates pledging to revoke union monopoly-bargaining policies that favor government employment growth over business job growth.

January 26, 2011

Right to Work Members Win Against Long Odds

(Source: January 2011 NRTWC Newsletter) Committee Defeats Police/Fire Monopoly-Bargaining Legislation With the long-anticipated conclusion of the 111th Congress a few weeks ago, National Right to Work Committee members and supporters achieved a major legislative victory that had seemed a near impossibility at the Congress's inception in 2009. Just before Christmas, Congress adjourned without having rubber-stamped Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's (D-Nev.) so-called "Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act" (S.3991). This was government union bosses' "top legislative priority" in the 111th Congress, as International Firefighters (IAFF/AFL-CIO) union czar Harold Schaitberger admitted mournfully after the adjournment. Seasoned Capitol Hill observers had confidently predicted the Reid legislation would pass into law before the end of 2010, and with good reason. At the outset of the 2009-2010 Congress, the votes were there to pass the bill in both chambers of Congress. Furthermore, President Obama was publicly vowing to sign it as soon as it reached his desk.

January 20, 2011

Membership Ballot Protects Your Free Speech

(Source: January 2011 NRTWC Newsletter) Right to Work corporate counsel Rich Clair has repeatedly had to go to FEC headquarters to try to dissuade FEC bureaucrats from denying to Committee members "true" membership status under federal campaign law. Your Signature May Stop the FEC From Trampling on Your Rights This month the National Right to Work Committee is providing supporters across the country with a much-needed opportunity to protect themselves, one by one, from Big Labor-friendly bureaucrats at the Federal Election Commission (FEC). Given FEC bureaucrats' long track record of bullying pro-Right to Work Americans who try to exercise their First Amendment rights, this is an opportunity you can't afford to pass up. Over the years, FEC lawyers have repeatedly buried Right to Work officers under mountains of harassing subpoenas about the Committee's survey program, which informs members which U.S. senators and congressmen support Right to Work -- and which ones don't. FEC's Biased Definitions Of 'Member' Have Been Rejected by Courts Starting more than a quarter-century ago, the FEC has tried to concoct rules that disqualify some or even all Right to Work members from "true" membership status. Many members would thus be denied a voice in the legislative process.

January 18, 2011

Right to Work to Capitol Hill: 'Keep Your Promises'

(Source: January 2011 NRTWC Newsletter) Former Speakers Newt Gingrich (R-Ga., left) and Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) both made campaign pledges to support roll-call votes on forced-dues repeal, but blocked action on such legislation when Congress was in session. Politicians Pledging to Back Right to Work Take Charge of House Thanks in significant part to the efforts of National Right to Work Committee members across the country, starting this month the U.S. House of Representatives will be led by a speaker and a majority leader who have pledged full support for Americans' Right to Work without being forced to join or pay dues to a union. Now Committee members' job is to make sure Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.), and other members of Congress turn their pro-Right to Work promises into action. John Boehner, Eric Cantor Owe Leadership Posts to Worker-Freedom Advocates Mr. Boehner and Mr. Cantor enjoy their top leadership positions in the House in part due to pro-Right to Work Americans' support for congressional candidates nationwide who had pledged to oppose compulsory unionism. Millions of pro-Right to Work Americans mobilized against candidates who supported compulsory unionism, or tried to hide their position on freedom in the workplace. These Americans expect Mr. Boehner and Mr. Cantor to lay the foundation for a new federal labor policy respecting each employee's ability to decide for himself or herself whether or not to join or financially support a union, declared Committee President Mark Mix. "Poll after poll shows nearly four out of five Americans who regularly vote support the Right to Work," explained Mr. Mix. "When these citizens helped John Boehner and Eric Cantor become the new House leaders, they sent an unmistakable message to Capitol Hill -- roll back Organized Labor's compulsory-unionism privileges." In the 2010 elections, voters firmly rejected major Big Labor power grabs such as the "card check" forced-unionism bill, which sailed through the House as recently as 2007 and seemed close to becoming law in early 2009, after Barack Obama became the 44th U.S. President. Momentum Swings Toward Right to Work A full-fledged Committee effort to get federal candidates on the record against the "card check" bill, or "Employee Free Choice Act," as proponents cynically mislabeled it, surpassed expectations in mobilizing citizens and increasing the number of Right to Work supporters in Congress. To activate Right to Work supporters, the Committee distributed a record-smashing total of nearly 8.4 million federal candidate Survey 2010 "information packets" through the U.S. Postal Service last year. Above and beyond that, the 2010 program had a massive Internet component, including nearly half a million e-mails transmitted in October alone. All this plus radio, TV, and newspaper advertising. Lobbying by Committee members persuaded hundreds of House and Senate candidates to take a pro-Right to Work position, which in turn helped many get elected. That's not surprising, given the Right to Work principle's overwhelming public support. "The political momentum is now against compulsory unionism," commented Mr. Mix. "That means in this Congress the Committee actually has a chance, if members keep up the pressure, to pick up enough votes from the 'mushy middle' to push pro-Right to Work legislation through the House." Committee Pushes For Floor Votes

January 18, 2011

Right to Work to Capitol Hill: 'Keep Your Promises'

(Source: January 2011 NRTWC Newsletter) Former Speakers Newt Gingrich (R-Ga., left) and Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) both made campaign pledges to support roll-call votes on forced-dues repeal, but blocked action on such legislation when Congress was in session. Politicians Pledging to Back Right to Work Take Charge of House Thanks in significant part to the efforts of National Right to Work Committee members across the country, starting this month the U.S. House of Representatives will be led by a speaker and a majority leader who have pledged full support for Americans' Right to Work without being forced to join or pay dues to a union. Now Committee members' job is to make sure Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.), and other members of Congress turn their pro-Right to Work promises into action. John Boehner, Eric Cantor Owe Leadership Posts to Worker-Freedom Advocates Mr. Boehner and Mr. Cantor enjoy their top leadership positions in the House in part due to pro-Right to Work Americans' support for congressional candidates nationwide who had pledged to oppose compulsory unionism. Millions of pro-Right to Work Americans mobilized against candidates who supported compulsory unionism, or tried to hide their position on freedom in the workplace. These Americans expect Mr. Boehner and Mr. Cantor to lay the foundation for a new federal labor policy respecting each employee's ability to decide for himself or herself whether or not to join or financially support a union, declared Committee President Mark Mix. "Poll after poll shows nearly four out of five Americans who regularly vote support the Right to Work," explained Mr. Mix. "When these citizens helped John Boehner and Eric Cantor become the new House leaders, they sent an unmistakable message to Capitol Hill -- roll back Organized Labor's compulsory-unionism privileges." In the 2010 elections, voters firmly rejected major Big Labor power grabs such as the "card check" forced-unionism bill, which sailed through the House as recently as 2007 and seemed close to becoming law in early 2009, after Barack Obama became the 44th U.S. President. Momentum Swings Toward Right to Work A full-fledged Committee effort to get federal candidates on the record against the "card check" bill, or "Employee Free Choice Act," as proponents cynically mislabeled it, surpassed expectations in mobilizing citizens and increasing the number of Right to Work supporters in Congress. To activate Right to Work supporters, the Committee distributed a record-smashing total of nearly 8.4 million federal candidate Survey 2010 "information packets" through the U.S. Postal Service last year. Above and beyond that, the 2010 program had a massive Internet component, including nearly half a million e-mails transmitted in October alone. All this plus radio, TV, and newspaper advertising. Lobbying by Committee members persuaded hundreds of House and Senate candidates to take a pro-Right to Work position, which in turn helped many get elected. That's not surprising, given the Right to Work principle's overwhelming public support. "The political momentum is now against compulsory unionism," commented Mr. Mix. "That means in this Congress the Committee actually has a chance, if members keep up the pressure, to pick up enough votes from the 'mushy middle' to push pro-Right to Work legislation through the House." Committee Pushes For Floor Votes

January 13, 2011

January 2011 issue of The National Right To Work Committee Newsletter now available

The January 2011 issue of The National Right to Work Committee Newsletter is available for download in an Adobe pdf format for your convenience to read and share. It is the Committee’s official newsletter publication that provides an excellent monthly…

December 31, 2010

Obama NLRB to Ignore Mid-Term Election Results; intends to backdoor 'Card Check'

(Source: December 2010 NRTWC Newsletter) Independent Workers, Firms Face 'Card-Check Lite' Implementation It's been more than a century since Mr. Dooley, the immortal comic character created by Chicago-based journalist Finley Peter Dunne, opined that "th' Supreme Coort follows th' election returns." In the High Court's consideration of controversial legal cases over the years, it often really has seemed that majorities of unelected justices were reluctant, for good or ill, to ignore recent electoral results. But Mr. Dooley's adage doesn't appear to have made any impression whatsoever on the forced-unionism zealots who now hold all but one of the four occupied seats on the powerful National Labor Relations Board, or NLRB. (The fifth NLRB seat has been vacant for several months.) Despite the fact that voters in the November 2 general elections sent a clear message they oppose the imposition of new federal policies to help Organized Labor increase the share of workers who are under union monopoly-bargaining control, the Obama NLRB is signaling that is exactly what it intends to do.

December 31, 2010

Obama NLRB to Ignore Mid-Term Election Results; intends to backdoor 'Card Check'

(Source: December 2010 NRTWC Newsletter) Independent Workers, Firms Face 'Card-Check Lite' Implementation It's been more than a century since Mr. Dooley, the immortal comic character created by Chicago-based journalist Finley Peter Dunne, opined that "th' Supreme Coort follows th' election returns." In the High Court's consideration of controversial legal cases over the years, it often really has seemed that majorities of unelected justices were reluctant, for good or ill, to ignore recent electoral results. But Mr. Dooley's adage doesn't appear to have made any impression whatsoever on the forced-unionism zealots who now hold all but one of the four occupied seats on the powerful National Labor Relations Board, or NLRB. (The fifth NLRB seat has been vacant for several months.) Despite the fact that voters in the November 2 general elections sent a clear message they oppose the imposition of new federal policies to help Organized Labor increase the share of workers who are under union monopoly-bargaining control, the Obama NLRB is signaling that is exactly what it intends to do.

December 30, 2010

Workers Forced to Bankroll Agenda They Oppose

(Source: December 2010 NRTWC Newsletter) Union bosses like AFL-CIO czar Richard Trumka claim that forced-unionism policies are in union members' best interest. But a new scientific poll shows union members overwhelmingly support the Right to Work principle. New Nationwide Poll Shows Union Members Support Right to Work A scientific survey of union members nationwide, conducted the week before the November elections by well-known pollster Frank Luntz for the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, shows that Big Labor bosses are out of touch with the people they purport to represent as well as the public at large. The poll gauged the opinions of both private- and government-sector union members regarding key aspects of the agenda Big Labor bankrolls with union treasury funds, which consist primarily of dues and fees that workers are forced to fork over as a condition of employment. In the 2009-2010 campaign cycle, union officials funneled forced dues and fees extracted from an estimated nine million union members and forced union fee-paying nonmembers into what appears to have been their largest ever federal mid-term electoral war chest. Top bosses of the AFL-CIO-affiliated American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) union openly admit to having spent a total of nearly $87.5 million, mostly union treasury money, on mid-term electioneering. Service Employees International Union (SEIU) bosses acknowledge pouring $44 million, primarily forced-dues money, into 2009-2010 politics. National Education Association (NEA) teacher union chiefs have owned up to siphoning $40 million into politicking over the past two years. Altogether, it's safe to say Organized Labor shelled out more than a billion dollars in reported and unreported contributions, including "in-kind" support like phone banks and get-out-the-vote drives as well as cash, to its favored 2010 congressional candidates. Four Out of Five Union Members Reject Forced Union Membership, Dues

December 29, 2010

Federal Candidate Survey Mobilizes Millions

(Source: December 2010 NRTWC Newsletter) The Committee's federal survey program ensured that politicians like the supposedly "independent" U.S. Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (D-S.D.) were held accountable for their votes to expand Big Labor's forced-unionism privileges. Program Maximizes Right to Work Gains in 'Year of Opportunity' Thanks to National Right to Work Committee members' generous assistance, the Committee's federal-candidate Survey 2010 checked a massive Big Labor electioneering blitz and sharply increased support in Congress for repeal of federally-imposed forced union dues. To mobilize Right to Work supporters, the Committee distributed a record-smashing total of nearly 8.4 million federal candidate Survey "information packets" through the U.S. Postal Service this year. Above and beyond that, the 2010 program had a massive Internet component, including nearly half a million e-mails transmitted in October alone. All this plus radio, TV, and newspaper advertising. The packets, e-mails and ads let pro-Right to Work citizens know where their candidates stood on compulsory unionism. And most of the packets were mailed out during the during the last five weeks of the general election campaign to specifically targeted states and districts across the country. In a year in which voters were already extremely concerned about Big Labor encroachment of employee freedom and destruction of private-sector jobs, the fall program maximized Right to Work gains in both the U.S. House and the U.S. Senate. Pro-Right to Work Candidates Won in 76 of 106 Targeted Congressional Contests Compared to the House that will permanently disband after a December "lame duck" session, the House that convenes in January will have 55 more members identified, based on their campaign pledges and voting records, as 100% Right to Work supporters. In the Senate, where just 37 out of 100 seats were up for election this year, compared to 435 out of 435 House seats, Right to Work reaped a net gain of five seats.

December 28, 2010

Right to Work: Rx For Job-Losing States

(Source: December 2010 NRTWC Newsletter) In every region of the country where both Right to Work states and forced-unionism states are located, the Right to Work states' long-term economic growth is superior. The Midwestern contrast is especially strong. Legislators Look at 'Oklahoma Model' For Stronger Economic Growth It's been more than seven decades since The Grapes of Wrath, both the John Steinbeck novel and the Hollywood movie it inspired, established the desperate migration of "Okies" from the Dust Bowl to the orchards of California as an icon of the Great Depression. Times have certainly changed. As an October 12 USA Today feature story noted, since 1999, "the number of Californians departing the Golden State for Oklahoma has outnumbered those going the opposite direction by more than 21,000 . . . ." The net influx of people into the Sooner State from California and many other states with sub-par or abysmal job and income growth records is, as USA Today put it, "a sign of Oklahoma's growing economic prowess." To explain the state's recent record of economic success, the USA Today feature specifically mentioned Oklahoma's low and relatively stable housing costs, its concentration of aerospace and defense technology expertise, and its oil and natural gas reserves. But as important as these assets are, Oklahoma had them all in the early 1990's, when its long-term job and income growth still trailed the national average. The real turning point for Oklahoma's transition from an economic laggard to an economic leader was in 1992 -- when the National Right to Work Committee teamed up with local grass-roots activists to map out a multi-year campaign to pass a Sooner Right to Work law. Benefits of Right to Work Campaign Were Evident Long Before State Law Was Passed "In the early 1990's, the 'Dust Bowl' was already a distant memory, but Oklahoma's job climate still seemed pretty dry," commented Matthew Leen, vice president of the National Right to Work Committee. Domestic population migration data reflect Oklahoma's "growing economic prowess." The 1994-2001 Sooner State campaign to pass a Right to Work law, as well as the law itself, helped build that prowess. "From 1984 through 1994, the decade before the Committee program to pass a Right to Work law in Oklahoma was initiated, private-sector employment in Oklahoma increased by less than a third as much as the national average, according to the U.S. Labor Department. "Over that same decade, inflation-adjusted U.S. Commerce Department data show Oklahoma's real personal income grew by just 2.3%, less than a tenth of the nationwide percentage gain. "But in 1994, the seeds of change were