California Congressman Brad Sherman (D) has introduced legislation to repeal right-to-work laws in the twenty-two states that have them, including Kansas. Right-to-work laws were created in 1947 as part of the Taft-Hartley Act, which amended the National Labor Relations Act of 1935. “Right-to-work” refers to the right of states to prohibit closed shops, a workplace that requires a worker to be a member of a labor union and to pay dues to that union.
Workers can form unions in right-to-work states but individual workers have the right to opt out and not pay dues. In states without right-to-work laws, unions can force employers to fire any worker who does not pay dues.
Let’s look at some facts from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. From 1999 to 2009, right-to-work states have added 1.5 million private sector jobs for a 3.7 percent increase; states which are not right-to-work lost 1.8 million jobs over the same decade, for a decline of 2.3 percent. Some states, like Michigan and Ohio, home of the powerful United Auto Workers Union, have hemorrhaged private sector jobs, declining 17 percent and 10 percent respectively over that time period.
Is this what Congressman Sherman wants to see in the rest of the country? The facts clearly show that jobs in right-to-work states are growing, not declining and some of those jobs are union jobs. Congressman Sherman’s bill to repeal right-to-work laws is aimed only at protecting unions, not at allowing Americans the right to work.
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