Free Republic

"......Right-to-work laws make collective bargaining more difficult by requiring that union members pay for the representation of nonmembers. Burdening those who desire union representation does not make economic sense, particularly now when, as researchers at the International Monetary Fund just concluded, the decline in union representation is “a key contributor” to the increasing share of income going to the top 10 percent instead of into workers’ pockets. That is what the juxtaposition of your two articles demonstrates, and that is what Governor Walker appears to want.

Since its right-to-work law took effect, Michigan has experienced the nation's sixth-largest growth in the number of people working, adding 141,990 jobs from March 2013 through December 2014, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics. California saw the largest increase during that span, adding 603,174 jobs. On a percentage basis, Michigan employment grew 3.3 percent, ranking 15th overall in the nation. North Dakota held the top spot, growing its workforce by 5.4 percent. Michigan had 4,294,532 jobs in March of 2013, a number that increased to 4,436,522 in December of 2014. The data on jobs comes from the monthly...

A Wisconsin business owner upset over enactment of a right-to-work law and other policies says he is expanding in Minnesota because the economic policies there are more conducive for his operation. James Hoffman, president of Hoffman Construction in Black River Falls, said Monday that he was accelerating plans to expand an office in Lakeville, Minnesota, that currently has two full-time employees. […] Hoffman says the decision is based on business, not politics. …

SANTA FE – A New Mexico right-to-work bill that has reignited old economic arguments and fanned partisan flames was shot down Tuesday in a Senate committee, leaving its path to final approval blocked with less than two weeks left in the 60-day legislative session. The proposed change in state labor laws was derailed on a 5-3 party-line vote in the Senate Public Affairs Committee, after majority Democrats thwarted a GOP attempt last week to have the House-approved legislation sent to the full Senate for a vote. Labor union leaders lauded the vote but said they will be on the lookout...

On Tuesday, March 10, Washington State’s Employee Rights Political Action Committee (erpac.org), announced a grassroots initiative to replace restrictive employee laws with personal choice that both allows employees to keep their hard earned money in their pockets, and assists business in growing jobs. Called the “Employee Rights Act,” (I-1395) this new ballot initiative, if passed, will end compulsory union membership, ensuring an employee’s ability to find and keep gainful employment regardless of membership status and allow employers to hire without regard to a prospective employee's union participation. It will also allow employees to opt out of automatic union dues deduction....

Principles: If Republicans want to know how to respond to President Obama's barbs and attacks, they should pay close attention to what Gov. Scott Walker said after Obama smacked him for signing a right-to-work bill. Obama, who believes that he should comment on anything and everything under the sun, issued a written statement condemning the law. "I'm deeply disappointed," he said, "that a new anti-worker law in Wisconsin will weaken, rather than strengthen, workers in the new economy."

..Tamara Kay, a professor in the sociology department at the University of New Mexico, criticized right-to-work laws as "kindergarten math."Much of the focus on fights over right-to-work laws has been on Rust Belt states like Michigan, Indiana, and now Wisconsin, as its governor and likely presidential candidate Scott Walker signed a right-to-work bill Monday. But there's also a high stakes showdown underway in New Mexico. Late last month, the state's House of Representatives passed a right-to-work bill, setting up a face-off with the Senate, which could raise the profile of Republican Gov. Susana Martinez, positioning her as a Walker-esque rising...

In a sharp jab at Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, President Obama on Monday criticized Wisconsin's newly-signed law to prevent workers from being obliged to pay union dues as a "sustained, coordinated assault on unions, led by powerful interests and their allies in government." "I'm deeply disappointed that a new anti-worker law in Wisconsin will WEAKEN, rather than strengthen workers in the new economy," Obama said. "Wisconsin is a state built by labor, with a proud pro-worker past. So even as its governor claims victory over working Americans, I'd encourage him to try and score a victory for working Americans —...

President Obama is “deeply disappointed” in Governor Scott Walker (R., Ohio) for signing “right-to-work” legislation that allows workers to decide if they want to pay union dues or not. “Wisconsin is a state built by labor, with a proud pro-worker past,” Obama said in a Tuesday evening statement. “So even as its governor claims victory over working Americans, I’d encourage him to try and score a victory for working Americans – by taking meaningful action to raise their wages and offer them the security of paid leave. Read more at: http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/415134/krauthammers-take-disclose-everything-ian-tuttle

Earlier today, following rigorous debate in the legislature, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker signed into law SB 44, a right-to-work bill that makes union dues and participation optional for workers. SB 44 will further expand employee rights in Wisconsin and help create an atmosphere hospitable to economic growth. Right-to-work laws grant employees the freedom of choosing whether to financially support a union by prohibiting the payment of dues as a condition of employment. The implementation of voluntary union dues maximizes individual freedom in the pursuit of employment while holding unions more accountable to their members. Under a non-right-to-work state’s system of...

Overhauling more than a half century of labor law in Wisconsin, Gov. Scott Walker on Monday signed so-called right-to-work legislation banning labor contracts that require private sector workers to pay labor fees. In a matter of weeks, Republicans pushed through the measure making Wisconsin the 25th state with such a law, giving a victory to manufacturers in the state and a blow to organized labor and some construction firms, which had opposed the measure. The passage marks a shift in the GOP governor's position that comes as he pursues an all but certain presidential run. Walker said repeatedly during the...

We are halfway there: On Friday, the state assembly of Wisconsin voted to make the state the 25th to pass right-to-work legislation, and Governor Scott Walker is expected to sign the bill with some satisfaction. That’s 25 down, 25 to go. (Our optimism is not so unanchored as to consider the sorry case of the District of Columbia.) Right-to-work laws end the practice of union bosses’ enriching their organizations through a legal variety of extortion under which all workers are required to pay the equivalent of union dues, whether they wish to be represented by a particular union or do...

Ladies and Gentlemen, I accept the flowers as a memento of reconciliation between the white and colored races of the Southern states. I accept it more particularly as it comes from a colored lady, for if there is any one on God's earth who loves the ladies I believe it is myself. (Immense applause and laughter.) I came here with the jeers of some white people, who think that I am doing wrong. I believe I can exert some influence, and do much to assist the people in strengthening fraternal relations, and shall do all in my power to elevate...

In America, you have the right to remain silent, the right to rise—and soon the right to work. At least that is if you live in Wisconsin, or one of the other right-to-work states that allow private sector workers to opt out of union membership. Next week, it is expected that Gov. Scott Walker will sign legislation making Wisconsin the 25th state to pass right-to-work legislation. Interestingly, Walker didn't actively push for this legislation, but his signature will nonetheless guarantee one more feather in the cap of a Republican governor who has helped transform his state in recent years. You...

Welcome to government in Illinois, the worst-managed state in the country. The Land of Lincoln is buried under staggering debts, including a projected $6.7 billion operating gap for the next fiscal year and an $111 billion unfunded pension liability. Government unions and politicians engage in legal collusion that fleeces taxpayers. Between 2002 and 2014, 86% of Illinois state lawmakers received union contributions, according to the Illinois Policy Institute.

"...Regardless of whether you’d characterize the right-to-work law as fanatical or not, it’s remarkable the extent to which Madison kept mum about its passage. Besides a few dozen Democratic legislators and a few hundred labor protesters the day before, the famously liberal city was placid as the conservative legislation rolled along. The liberals who have faced Walker have lost, and lost,and lost again,and progressive Wisconsinites’ stores of outrage seem,at least for the moment,to be exhausted.That’s not to suggest the left has given up. But Walker and the Republicans in the Legislature have more ideas they plan to advance,including cutting funding...

Scott Walker’s likely pending victory over organized labor — passage of a right-to-work law in Wisconsin — will be just the latest milestone in a resurgent anti-union movement marching across the industrial heartland. With passage expected as early as Friday, right to work — which allows workers not to pay dues to a union that bargains collectively on their behalf — is progressing through the states more swiftly than at any time since the 1950s. And where once such measures were confined largely to the South and West, they‘re now taking root in Midwestern union strongholds like Indiana and Michigan,...

".....Economists and others who study the issue say it's too soon to draw conclusions from either state about what effect right-to-work is having.But that hasn't stopped proponents from pointing to job growth in Indiana, and detractors highlighting union membership slides in Michigan,as possible outcomes headed Wisconsin's way.Under right-to-work,private-sector businesses cannot enter labor contracts that require workers to pay union dues. Supporters say that it's about worker freedom and that right-to-work will make Wisconsin more attractive to businesses looking to move in or expand.But opponents say the goal is to destroy unions,which they argue will hurt the economy,lower wages and endanger...

Former Michigan AFL-CIO President Mark Gaffney and Vincent Vernuccio, director of labor policy at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, squared off Tuesday, Feb. 10, in a debate over Michigan’s right-to-work law. “Those who are behind it want to see unions weakened,” Gaffney asserted. “Right-to-work comes from the rise of the political right in this country and the conservative movement becoming more active.” “If that’s so, than why have we seen unions actually growing in some right-to-work states?” Vernuccio responded. The debate was sponsored by the Michigan Labor and Employment Relations Association. An audience of approximately 50 attended the event,...

Thousands of Wisconsin union workers rallied at the Capitol Saturday to protest a “right-to-work” proposal that would outlaw the mandatory payment of union dues, but the crowd was much smaller than those in 2011 against Gov. Scott Walker’s law stripping public sector unions of much of their power. Speakers at the event jeered Walker’s comment Thursday that fighting against protesters during the 2011 debates prepared him to battle terrorists as president. Walker has not yet announced his presidential campaign, but is expected to do so later this year. “What we are doing here today is the heart and soul of...