Right to Work Freedom key to Indiana’s future growth and keeping its working age population in state

From Nelson Peters an Allen County commissioner written  for The Journal Gazette:

One of the nation’s leading business relocation firms reports that between 33 percent and 50 percent of businesses seeking to relocate will not consider a state that does not have right-to-work laws. Right-to-work legislation will allow Indiana and our region to continue down the path of sustainable economic development and the job growth we have embarked upon.

Consider for instance that according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, eight of the 10 states that showed the greatest percentage of growth in gross domestic product between 2000 and 2010 were right-to-work States. Conversely, eight of the 10 states that showed the smallest percentage of growth in GDP between 2000 and 2010 were compulsory union states.

As baby boomers work their way through the pipeline, it will be necessary to replace them. In 2009, there were 20 percent more 25- to 34-year-olds in right-to-work states than in 1999. In compulsory union states, the increase was only 3.3 percent, demonstrating that those who will be replacing the employees who will soon be retiring are migrating to right-to-work states.

There are 22 states that have enacted right-to-work measures. The previous decade demonstrates in a compelling way the advantages of right to work in enhancing their state’s economic base. Between 2000 and 2010 real personal income grew by an average of 24.3 percent in the states with some right-to-work legislation. This was more than double the rate of growth of the remaining 28 states. Similarly, the all-industry GDP of the 22 right-to-work states grew by 24.2 percent between 1999 and 2009. This was more than a 40 percent increase over the states that had no such legislation. Additionally, during the previous decade, Ohio (a non-right-to-work state) lost 10,400 jobs while Texas (a right-to-work state) gained 1,615,000 new jobs (The Wall Street Journal, March 3, 2008).

Some will argue that right to work initiatives are not the panacea for job growth. Some may argue that a number of factors help to shape the economic climate of a state or region, and they certainly have a point. But to continue to support a compulsory union policy that eliminates up to half of the business relocation opportunities our state has to benefit from is a handicap we cannot continue to accept.

Right now, successful right-to-work initiatives seem to be the difference between taking the state and northeast Indiana from a good place to do business to an exceptional place to do business.