The Truth About Right-to-Work States
Don’t believe the false narrative about right to work legislation. Defenders of the union status quo will tell you that forced unionization is necessary to protect New Mexican workers, and that every member of the union should pay dues.
State Director Burly Cain recently defended those forced union members along with right-to-work laws around the country.
Right-to-work states added 1.7 million jobs from 2001 to 2011, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. During that same period, states with forced union membership lost 2 million jobs.
Residents of right-to-work states also earn more, and workers’ incomes rise faster. In 2016, disposable income per capita was more than $2,400 higher in right-to-work states than in forced-unionism states after adjusting for cost-of-living, and the total compensation of manufacturing employees in right-to-work states had grown faster than that of their counterparts in forced union states over the previous five years.
When workers can choose whether to join a union, their union is forced to better represent them, and studies show the state will be better off economically.
Read Burly’s op-ed for more on how right to work benefits workers and the economy.
