Indiana moving closer to Right to Work in 2012?

It is looking more likely that the Indiana Governor, House, and Senate are going to bring workplace freedom to Hoosiers and sign into law a Right to Work Act next year.  From Mary Beth Schneider at the IndyStar.com:

Gov. Mitch Daniels apparently doesn’t plan on coasting through his final legislative session in 2012.

From the day he was first sworn into office in 2005, Daniels has had an aggressive legislative wish list, and he suggested that 2012 won’t be any different. Asked Tuesday by reporters if he would have any new proposals to pursue, Daniels said with a smile: “Just might.”

He plans to unveil his legislative agenda in a luncheon speech on Dec. 16 to the Downtown Kiwanis club, he said.

One thing expected on his to-do list: making Indiana the 23rd state to adopt so-called “right to work” legislation.

Republican leaders in the House and Senate already have said that is their top legislative priority. Under the law, companies and unions are banned from negotiating a contract that requires nonmembers to pay fees for representation.

Daniels said Tuesday he’s “about done studying” the legislation and will “chime in” soon.

“Their agenda is all of our agenda,” he said of the GOP legislative leaders, adding, “I’ll just say that in this national economy, we need absolutely every edge we can get to bring middle-class jobs here that are in just short supply all over the country. I’ll also observe that there’s a lot of competition now, particularly in our region.”

To stay ahead of surrounding states, Daniels said, “we cannot rest on the oars. We have to continue to look for things that might make us more attractive.”