Michigan Workers and Families Have Been Hurt
“If Michiganders can keep the momentum going this year, they may soon have their Right to Work law back.”
Investors Business Daily looks at the thriving American Auto Industry — no not the one in excessively-taxed and forced-unionism dominated Michigan but the lower-taxed Right to Work Tennessee:
President Obama triumphantly told the United Auto Workers last month that car manufacturing in America is back, thanks to the federal GM (GM) and Chrysler bailouts. In Tennessee, the reaction was: Don’t call it a comeback — we’ve been here for years.
Michigan may be Motor City’s home in most people’s minds, but Tennessee has emerged as another major hub of auto manufacturing and related industries. Big domestic and foreign automakers have several facilities here and are expanding rapidly.
Tennessee, one of many Super Tuesday GOP primary states, has mostly been spared the trauma of mass layoffs, closures and bailouts that plagued the Rust Belt. Business and free-market groups cite a key advantage: It is a right-to-work state, effectively preventing Big Labor from being a major player there.
“If Michiganders can keep the momentum going this year, they may soon have their Right to Work law back.”
On average, forced-unionism states are roughly 22% more expensive to live in than Right to Work states. And decades of academic research show that compulsory unionism actually fosters a higher cost of living.
In addition to helping make the necessities and amenities of life more affordable, Right to Work laws help keep individual and family aggregate state-local tax burdens from spiraling out of control.