Right to Work is right for Virginia

Right to Work is right for Virginia

From the Richmond Times by NRTW President Mark  Mix: Weathering an economic downturn is never easy, but some states are managing better than others. Despite the recession, Virginia boasts a modest unemployment rate, and its average hourly wages top the national mean. What's the Old Dominion's secret? One factor that sets Virginia apart from its less fortunate neighbors is the state's popular Right to Work law. Virginia's Right to Work law ensures that no employee can be forced to join or pay dues to a union just to get or keep a job. Protecting employee choice has always been the most important argument in favor of Right to Work, but Virginia's economic performance is another point for worker freedom. Recent studies from the Cato Institute and the National Institute for Labor Relations Research indicate that right-to-work states enjoy higher job growth and more disposable income (after adjusting for families' cost-of-living) than their forced-unionism counterparts. Eight of the top 11 states for wage and salary growth enjoy right-to-work protections. Meanwhile, 13 of the 14 worst performers lack right-to-work laws. Workers and their families are also voting with their feet: According to the National Institute for Labor Relations Research, the young adult population in forced-unionism states has basically stagnated since 1980. Virginia, on the other hand, continues to attract a stream of new workers and entrepreneurs. Protecting worker freedom also prepares states to handle a difficult recession better than their forced-unionism counterparts. Virginia's robust job and wage growth compares favorably with the sluggish performance of union-dominated states like Michigan, Illinois and Wisconsin.

'Systematically Biased' Against Schoolchildren

[stream provider=youtube flv=w4TkzWcGTxo img=x:/nrtwc.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/TerryMoeCEAFU.png embed=false share=false width=580 height=280 dock=true controlbar=over bandwidth=high autostart=false /] Dr. Moe: As long as monopolistic teacher unions "remain powerful," effective schools "will be short-changed." Stanford Professor Lambastes Monopolistic Teacher Unionism (Source: July 2011 NRTWC Newsletter) On June 1, Tennessee achieved a legislative milestone when its elected officials effectively repealed a 33-year-old state statute authorizing and promoting union monopoly-bargaining control over teachers and other K-12 public school instructional employees. Under the new K-12 reform law approved by the Legislature and signed by Gov. Bill Haslam (R ), no union or other organization will be handed a legally protected monopoly over all "employee" input in discussions with school boards over working conditions. Once this law, known as the Collaborative Conferencing Act, takes effect, teachers who choose not to join any union will, for the first time in decades, have a voice in discussions throughout Tennessee regarding salaries, benefits and grievances. Tennessee revoked teacher union bosses' monopoly-bargaining privileges last month largely thanks to persistent lobbying by the roughly 46,000 National Right to Work Committee members and supporters in the Volunteer State. And, according to Stanford University political scientist and education specialist Terry Moe, the Tennesseans who helped pass the Collaborative Conferencing Act have done an enormous favor for their state's schoolchildren. From Children's Standpoint, Union Boss-Perpetuated Salary Rules 'Make No Sense at All' In his new book Special Interest: Teachers Unions and America's Public Schools (Brookings Institution Press), Dr. Moe documents how teacher union monopoly bargaining, still statutorily enshrined in more than 30 states, impairs school outcomes while sharply raising the cost to taxpayers. In practice, charges Dr. Moe, "exclusive" union bargaining routinely produces "key decisions that depart from -- and are systematically biased against -- what is best for kids and effective organization." One example among many are so-called "single salary schedules" that furnish teachers with extra pay for additional degrees and course taking, even though "research has consistently shown" that simply accumulating degrees and/or additional course credits, "does not make teachers more effective." From "the standpoint of what is best for children," such Big Labor-perpetuated salary rules "make no sense at all" (emphasis Dr. Moe's). But teacher union officials ferociously defend "single salary schedule" rules, because they keep educators dependent on the union for securing better pay and career advancement. Monopolistic Unionism Can Never Be 'Reform Unionism' In today's America, Special Interest goes on to point out, many education policymakers and other leaders "recognize that teacher unions are standing in the way of effective schools," but mistakenly believe that union officials "can be persuaded to do good things with their [monopolistic] power." This is the false hope of what is commonly called "reform unionism."

'Systematically Biased' Against Schoolchildren

[stream provider=youtube flv=w4TkzWcGTxo img=x:/nrtwc.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/TerryMoeCEAFU.png embed=false share=false width=580 height=280 dock=true controlbar=over bandwidth=high autostart=false /] Dr. Moe: As long as monopolistic teacher unions "remain powerful," effective schools "will be short-changed." Stanford Professor Lambastes Monopolistic Teacher Unionism (Source: July 2011 NRTWC Newsletter) On June 1, Tennessee achieved a legislative milestone when its elected officials effectively repealed a 33-year-old state statute authorizing and promoting union monopoly-bargaining control over teachers and other K-12 public school instructional employees. Under the new K-12 reform law approved by the Legislature and signed by Gov. Bill Haslam (R ), no union or other organization will be handed a legally protected monopoly over all "employee" input in discussions with school boards over working conditions. Once this law, known as the Collaborative Conferencing Act, takes effect, teachers who choose not to join any union will, for the first time in decades, have a voice in discussions throughout Tennessee regarding salaries, benefits and grievances. Tennessee revoked teacher union bosses' monopoly-bargaining privileges last month largely thanks to persistent lobbying by the roughly 46,000 National Right to Work Committee members and supporters in the Volunteer State. And, according to Stanford University political scientist and education specialist Terry Moe, the Tennesseans who helped pass the Collaborative Conferencing Act have done an enormous favor for their state's schoolchildren. From Children's Standpoint, Union Boss-Perpetuated Salary Rules 'Make No Sense at All' In his new book Special Interest: Teachers Unions and America's Public Schools (Brookings Institution Press), Dr. Moe documents how teacher union monopoly bargaining, still statutorily enshrined in more than 30 states, impairs school outcomes while sharply raising the cost to taxpayers. In practice, charges Dr. Moe, "exclusive" union bargaining routinely produces "key decisions that depart from -- and are systematically biased against -- what is best for kids and effective organization." One example among many are so-called "single salary schedules" that furnish teachers with extra pay for additional degrees and course taking, even though "research has consistently shown" that simply accumulating degrees and/or additional course credits, "does not make teachers more effective." From "the standpoint of what is best for children," such Big Labor-perpetuated salary rules "make no sense at all" (emphasis Dr. Moe's). But teacher union officials ferociously defend "single salary schedule" rules, because they keep educators dependent on the union for securing better pay and career advancement. Monopolistic Unionism Can Never Be 'Reform Unionism' In today's America, Special Interest goes on to point out, many education policymakers and other leaders "recognize that teacher unions are standing in the way of effective schools," but mistakenly believe that union officials "can be persuaded to do good things with their [monopolistic] power." This is the false hope of what is commonly called "reform unionism."
Time for Kentucky to Get Right to Work

Time for Kentucky to Get Right to Work

Enacting a Right to Work law in Kentucky would be a boon for jobs and economic prosperity -- but don't just take our word for it.  The Bowling Green Daily News agrees: Gov. Steve Beshear and the Democrat-controlled House are beholden to labor unions in this state and for that reason, year after year we continue to lose companies and jobs to other Southern states because Kentucky is not a right-to-work state. Right-to-work laws protect workers’ freedoms by not forcing them to pay dues to a union upon becoming employed or throughout employment. Nearly any citizen in a right-to-work state is protected by a state’s right-to-work law. Labor unions make up less than 9 percent of Kentucky’s workforce, so it would make sense that Beshear and the House would have more concern for the majority of the workforce. Sadly, they don’t. They need the unions, who contribute millions of dollars every election year through political action committees or other ways to encourage the governor and those in the House to follow part of their agenda, which is not allowing Kentucky to become a right-to-work state. Kentucky is the only Southern state not to have a right-to-work law. For that reason, many companies don’t even consider our state when choosing plant locations. Business 101 would tell you that this is simply bad business. The governor and House are hindering our state because they ignore reality. Shame on them. It reflects poor leadership and it holds our state back when competing for jobs that could be coming to Kentucky. Simpson County Judge-Executive Jim Henderson is a strong supporter of the right-to-work concept. Henderson said on a number of occasions during the process of trying to get a company to come to Franklin, it was eliminated because of not being a right-to-work state. He said it was communicated through correspondence and other means of communication that not having a right-to-work law is why companies aren’t coming to his city.One only has to look at companies such as Nissan North America. The company admitted that one reason it decided to move its headquarters from California to Tennessee and not Kentucky was because of the lower business costs. Interestingly enough, the average Kentuckian has to work 13 months to make what an average Tennessean can in one year.

Trouble in Paradise; DNC getting pusback from Big Labor

At least 12 trade unions will boycott the Democratic National Convention in part because of its location -- Charlotte, North Carolina.  Apparently, North Carolina and 21 other states are on a union blacklist because they are Right to Work states.  The states are far from union-free, its just workers can't be forced to pay to a union boss. But in addition to locating in North Carolina, union bosses have "broad frustration" with President Obama and the Democrats in Congress.  Obama and the Democrats have given big labor everything they could but, of course, that is not enough. The Charlotte Observer has the story: CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Casting North Carolina as an anti-union bastion with “regressive policies aimed at diluting the power of workers,” more than a dozen trade unions affiliated with the national AFL-CIO have told the Democratic National Committee that they will sit out the 2012 convention in Charlotte, N.C. Coming on the heels of some liberals’ complaints that President Barack Obama is giving in to Republicans, the unions’ decision is another sign that key Democratic allies are unhappy with Obama and other party leaders as they gear up for a difficult election season. It’s also a signal that anything relating to Charlotte — from its besieged hometown bank to its lack of unionized hotels — will face scrutiny as the city eases into the national spotlight. Labor unions have long played an integral role in Democratic conventions. And some big ones, including the National Education Association and the Service Employees International Union, still plan to be active participants when the Democrats come to Charlotte in 2012. Local and state labor leaders also are still on board. The N.C. AFL-CIO helped lobby for Charlotte to be the convention site. On Friday, a leader of the Raleigh-based labor group called the national unions’ decision understandable, but “shortsighted.”