Moore: Every State Should Guarantee Right To Work

Moore: Every State Should Guarantee Right To Work

In our interviews with CEOs of major companies over the years, many told me they wouldn't even consider moving a new plant or facility to a state unless the state has a Right To Work law. Forced-union states like Maryland aren't even in the game. It was no geographical accident that Boeing built its new assembly plant in South Carolina and not in its home state of Washington and why the unions and the Obama administration tried to block the move. South Carolina is a Right To Work state, Washington isn't. Population growth over the last decade was 13 percent in Right To Work states versus only 6.5 percent in the others. Nearly five million Americans left forced-union states for Right To Work states, no doubt because Right To Work states are where the jobs are. Total income growth was about 10 percent higher in Right To Work states. If every state had such a law, the competitiveness of the entire nation would improve and fewer jobs would go overseas. In the spirit of 1776, I would love to see Congress amend the NLRA defining a nationally protected right to work and extend to all Americans a First Amendment right not to associate with a union. Until it does, every state should improve its competitive climate domestically and internationally by enacting a Right To Work law.
Right To Work Freedom is a "Beautiful Thing"

Right To Work Freedom is a "Beautiful Thing"

Heritage Foundation provides readers with a succinct summary of what Right to Work means to workers in Michigan: Conservatives won an enormous victory in Michigan last week. The state just passed a right-to-work law that makes union dues voluntary. Starting next year, union contracts cannot require employers to fire employees who do not pay union dues. The state that gave birth to the United Auto Workers union has become America’s 24th right-to-work state. Unions are furious and vowing to overturn the legislation via an initiative. However, it is hard to see this drive succeeding. Unions already put a state constitutional amendment on the ballot to prevent the legislature from ever passing a right-to-work bill. Michiganders voted it down by a 15-point margin. That is not surprising: Polling shows that a majority of Michiganders support right-to-work. So do 40 percent of union households. This is great news for Michigan’s unionized workers and unemployed.
Heritage to Chrysler: Support Right To Work to Help Michigan

Heritage to Chrysler: Support Right To Work to Help Michigan

From the Heritage Foundation an endorsement of Right To Work Freedoms for Michigan: Did you know that there are no Volkswagen manufacturing plants in the Detroit area? Or Mercedes-Benz? Or Kia? Or Hyundai? Or BMW, for that matter? Apart from having their cars assembled in Michigan, it turns out that those three companies have something else in common: the United Auto Workers union (UAW). It also turns out that every other car manufacturer has something in common, too: not wanting the UAW to do to them what it did to the Big Three. Today, President Obama will address the UAW, and he should receive a rousing welcome. After all, his terms of the auto bailout richly rewarded his union allies at the expense of non-union employees and private investors, giving them, among other prizes, a very large stake of ownership in Chrysler. And together, they stand adamantly opposed to "right-to-work" laws that would empower the nation's unemployed to find economic security with a non-union job. They claim they want to protect "the American auto industry," but this is not about "American cars." The controlling interest of Chrysler is Italy-based Fiat and previously was Germany's Daimler-Benz between 1997 and 2008. This is simply about protecting union fortunes. Chrysler can hire actors in Louisiana to play the part of Detroit workers, and it can produce cinematically brilliant television ads. But wouldn't Detroiters have more pride in a job than a commercial? Chrysler and the UAW must drop its opposition to Michigan's right-to-work legislation if it wants to pretend it cares. Right-to-work legislation protects employees from being fired for not paying union dues. Without that protection, workers are forced to support a union financially even if they'd rather spend their hard earned dollars at home, if the union contract harms them, or if they're opposed to the union's agenda. And if they don't, they lose their jobs. Obviously, when given the freedom of choice, many workers choose not to unionize.
Facts Show Right to Work is Right for America

Facts Show Right to Work is Right for America

Writing in the Miami Herald, James Sherk of the Heritage Foundation makes the case of Indiana and other states to enact Right to Work laws to protect their workers: Who could fault a worker who did not pay dues to the Teamsters? In the past two years the Department of Labor has charged or convicted of corruption 11 Teamsters officers. A government monitor recently accused the union’s president, Jimmy Hoffa, of trying to bribe election opponents with Teamster funds. Should a worker be fired for not paying union dues? Unions think so. They negotiate contracts that force workers to pay union dues or lose their job. Some workers object to their union’s political spending. Other workers could earn more than their union negotiated for them. Still others feel their union is corrupt. Right-to-work has returned to the national agenda. Twenty-two states have passed right-to-work laws that let workers decide whether to support unions or not.  It protects employees’ right to work, whether or not they support unions. New Hampshire legislators narrowly failed to override their governor’s veto of right-to-work. The Indiana legislature will soon debate whether to make the Hoosier state America’s 23rd right-to-work state. They should. Right-to-work benefits the economy as well as personal freedom. Unions organize more aggressively in non- right-to-work states. It is worth it to attempt to unionize any business they have a shot at. If a state becomes right-to-work, however, expensive organizing drives at good employers becomes less worthwhile — unions cannot force content workers to pay dues. Businesses want to know that, if they treat their workers well, unions will leave them alone. Right-to-work makes that more likely — and businesses notice. Studies show right-to-work laws are a major factor in business location decisions. Most new auto plants have been built in right-to-work states. More investment means more jobs.