NTD News: National Right To Work Introduced by U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson (SC)
Mark Mix and Kevin Hogan on NTD News discuss the introduction of the National Right to Work Act in the US House by Congressman Joe Wilson (SC).
The editorial page of the Charleston Daily Mail forcefully makes the case for passage of a Right to Work law in West Virginia:
West Virginia University economics professor Russell Sobel dared to raise the long-dormant issue of right-to-work in his new book, “Unleashing Capitalism: Why Prosperity Stops at the West Virginia Border and How to Fix It.”
At present, West Virginia is one of 28 states where a union can force all employees to either join the union or pay union dues as part of a condition of employment.
Right-to-work legislation would end the practice of closed shops by not requiring all employees to join a union [or pay dues or fees to a labor union as a condition of employment].
“Economic research suggests states with right-to-work laws tend to do better,” Sobel said. “Of course, the unions would fight against something like this. It weakens their power.”
. . .
Certainly in a state that gives away millions in tax breaks and other incentives to business, right-to-work legislation should be considered. Doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting different results, is a recipe for no change.
Sobel said that the unemployment rate in the right-to-work states is 4.04 percent, while it is 4.51 percent in the other states.
Delegate John Overington, R-Berkeley, has led many failed efforts to get this issue off the ground.
“West Virginia still has a major labor influence,” Overington said. “It’s almost immoral to require someone to join a union, just like it is inappropriate to make someone join a church.”
That is a good analogy. By allowing unions to have compulsory membership, the Legislature has put the state at a disadvantage in the marketplace for jobs.
The argument that this somehow will lead to a lower standard of living is laughable in a state that ranks 49th in income.
Mark Mix and Kevin Hogan on NTD News discuss the introduction of the National Right to Work Act in the US House by Congressman Joe Wilson (SC).
“In an age of legislative overreach, this is one of the shortest bills ever introduced. The National Right to Work Act does not add a single word to federal law. It simply removes language in depression-era law that gives union officials the power to extract dues from non-union workers as a condition of employment.”
A recent poll conducted by SurveyUSA, a national pollster rated “A” by polling aggregation site FiveThirtyEight, reveals Michiganders of all backgrounds strongly oppose overturning the state’s Right to Work law.