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1 Center for American Progress Action Fund |  Right-to-Work 101

Right-to-Work 101

Why These Laws Hurt Our Economy,Our Society, and Our Democracy

David Madland, Karla Walter, and Ross Eisenbrey February 2012

What are right-to-work laws?

In saes where he law exiss, “righ-o-work” makes i illegal or workers and employers

o negoiae a conrac requiring everyone who benes rom a union conrac o pay heir air share o he coss o adminisering i. Righ-o-work has nohing o do wih

people being orced o be union members.

Federal law already guaranees ha no one can be orced o be a member o a union, or

o pay any amoun o dues or ees o a poliical or social cause hey don’ suppor. Wha

righ-o-work laws do is allow some workers o receive a ree ride, geting he advanages

o a union conrac—such as higher wages and benes and proecion agains arbirary 

discipline—wihou paying any ee associaed wih negoiaing on hese maters.

Ta’s because he union mus represen all workers wih he same due diligence regard-less o wheher hey join he union or pay i dues or oher ees and a union conrac

mus cover all workers, again regardless o heir membership in or nancial suppor or

he union. In saes wihou righ-o-work laws, workers covered by a union conrac can

reuse union membership and pay a ee covering only he coss o workplace bargaining

raher han he ull cos o dues.

Tere is scan evidence hese laws creae jobs, help workers, or are good or a sae’s

economy, as supporers claim. Insead, hese laws weaken unions and hereby hur work-

ers, he middle class, and local economies. We presen here a Righ-o-Work 101 so ha

he debae over righ-o-work laws proceeds based on he acs.

Right-to-work laws don’t create jobs

Researchers who sudy he impac o righ-o-work laws nd ha hese laws do no

creae jobs—despie supporers’ claims o he conrary. Te Indiana Chamber o 

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2 Center for American Progress Action Fund |  Right-to-Work 101

Commerce, or example, claims ha “unionizaion increases labor coss,” and hereore

makes a given locaion less atracive o capial. Te purpose, hen, o righ-o-work laws

is o undermine unions and hereore lower wages in a given sae, hus atracing more

companies ino he sae.

Bu in pracice his low-road sraegy or job creaion jus doesn’ pan ou. Despie

 boosers’ promises o job creaion, researchers nd ha righ-o-work had “no signi-can posiive impac whasoever on employmen” in Oklahoma, he only sae o have

adoped a righ-o-work law over he pas 25 years—unil Indiana did so days ago—and

consequenly he bes example o how a new adoper o righ-o-work laws migh are

in oday’s economy. In ac, boh he number o companies relocaing o Oklahoma and

he oal number o manuacuring jobs in he sae ell by abou a hird since i adoped

such a law in 2001.

Indeed, mos righ-o-work advocaes’ purpored evidence o job growh is based on

oudaed research and misleading asserions. An Indiana Chamber o Commerce-

commissioned sudy ound righ-o-work saes had higher employmen growh beween1977 and 2008 compared o saes wihou a righ-o-work law, bu much o ha growh

could be atribued o oher acors. Tose acors included he saes’ educaional-atain-

men level, inrasrucure qualiy, and even is weaher—which he sudy ignored.

Recen research rom he Economic Policy Insiue ha conrolled or hese acors

nds ha righ-o-work laws have no increased employmen growh in he 22 saes

ha have adoped hem.

Right-to-work laws hurt workers

Righ-o-work laws lower worker pay and benes and make workplaces more danger-

ous or all workers—wheher unionized or no—by weakening unions.

Unions have a signican and posiive eec on he wages and benes o union and

nonunion workers alike. Unionized workers are able o bargain or beter wages,

 benes, and work condiions han hey would oherwise receive i negoiaing

individually. Te eec on he average worker—unionized or no—o working in a

righ-o-work sae is o earn approximaely $1,500 less per year han a similar worker

in a sae wihou such a law.

 Workers in righ-o-work saes are also signicanly less likely o receive employer-pro-

 vided healh insurance or pensions. I benes coverage in non-righ-o-work saes were

lowered o he levels o saes wih hese laws, 2 million ewer workers would receive

healh insurance and 3.8 million ewer workers would receive pensions naionwide.

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3 Center for American Progress Action Fund |  Right-to-Work 101

Te ac ha unionizaion raises people’s wages and benes is borne ou by surveys

o union members and by common sense. Unions also aec he wages and benes

o nonunion workers by seting sandards ha gradually become norms hroughou

indusries. o compee or workers, nonunion employers in highly unionized indusries

have o pay heir workers higher wages. And unions suppor governmen policies (such

as minimum-wage laws) ha raise workers’ pay.

Righ-o-work laws also may hur workplace saey. For insance, he occupaional-aal-

iy rae in he consrucion indusry—one o he mos hazardous in erms o workplace

deahs—is 34 percen higher in righ-o-work saes han in saes wihou such laws.

 And one academic sudy nds ha increasing union densiy has a posiive eec on

 workplace saey in saes wih no righ-o-work laws (or every 1 percen increase in

unionizaion raes here is a 0.35 percen decline in consrucion aaliy raes), bu in

righ-o-work saes, he eec o union densiy on saey disappears.

Unions are democraic organizaions: I employees didn’ like heir conracs, hey 

 would voe o rejec he conrac, voe o change heir union ofcers, or voe o ge rid o heir union—all o which can be done under curren law.

Right-to-work laws weaken the middle class

By weakening unions righ-o-work laws also weaken he middle class. From pushing

or air wages and good benes, o encouraging ciizens o voe, o supporing Social

Securiy and advocaing or amily-leave benes, unions make he middle class srong

 by giving workers a voice in boh he marke and our democracy.

Nine o he 10 saes wih he lowes percenage o workers in unions—Mississippi,

 Arkansas, Souh Carolina, Norh Carolina, Georgia, Virginia, ennessee, exas, and

Oklahoma—are righ-o-work saes. All o hem also are saddled wih a relaively weak 

middle class. Te share o oal income going o he middle class—dened as he middle

60 percen o he populaion—in each o hese saes is below he naional average.

I unionizaion raes increased by 10 percenage poins naionwide, he ypical middle-

class household—unionized or no—would earn $1,479 more each year. In ac, dollar

or dollar, srenghening unions is nearly as imporan o he middle class as boosing

college-graduaion raes.

Right-to-work laws hurt small business

Since ew small businesses are ever unionized, changing union regulaions won’ aec

hem. Ye unlike big manuacurers who can choose which sae o expand ino, mos

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4 Center for American Progress Action Fund |  Right-to-Work 101

small businesses are rooed in a local communiy and dependen on local consum-

ers. When righ-o-work laws lower he wages and benes o area workers, hey also

hreaen o reduce he number o jobs in he economy by reducing consumer demand.

Te Economic Policy Insiue esimaes ha or every $1 million in wage cus, six jobs

are los in he service, reail, consrucion, real esae, and oher local indusries. For big

manuacurers ha sell heir producs all over he globe, his may be less imporan.

For small businesses ha depend on local sales, reducing he amoun o disposable

income in local employees’ pockes can be devasaing.

Right-to-work laws create rules that would hurt all organizations

but only apply to unions

Te corporae lobbyiss who push or righ-o-work legislaion—such as he Chamber

o Commerce and he Naional Righ o Work Commitee—wan unions o operaeunder a se o rules ha none o hem accep or hemselves. Tese lobbyiss would

never hink o serving he ineress o companies ha reuse o pay dues o heir organi-

zaions, ye hey wan unions o do so in order o drain heir resources.

Federal law already guaranees every worker who is represened by a union equal and

nondiscriminaory represenaion—meaning unions mus provide he same services,

 vigorous advocacy, and conracual righs and benes. Tis guaranee applies regardless

o wheher he employee is a union member. So i a non-dues-paying employee encoun-

ers a problem a work, he union is required o provide ha individual ull represena-

ion a no charge.

By conras, he Chamber o Commerce and oher employer organizaions resric some

o heir mos valuable services o dues-paying members. When asked i hey would

agree o provide all services o any ineresed business, even i ha business does no

pay dues, Chamber represenaives explained ha hey could no do ha because dues

are he primary source o Chamber unding and i would be unair o oher dues-paying

members. And ha cerainly makes sense—or unions as well as he Chamber.

Te Chamber o Commerce and Naional Righ o Work Commitee wan unions o

 be he only organizaions in he counry ha are required o provide ull services o

individuals who pay nohing or hem. Tis is no dieren han enabling some American

ciizens o op ou o paying axes while making available all governmen services. Tis

is no an agenda o increase employee righs bu raher o undermine he viabiliy o 

independen-employee organizaions.

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5 Center for American Progress Action Fund |  Right-to-Work 101

Right-to-work laws are bad for our political democracy

Righ-o-work laws inringe on he democraic righs o he elecorae by weakening

unions. Unions help boos poliical paricipaion among ordinary ciizens and conver

his paricipaion ino an eecive voice or pro-middle-class policies. By weakening

unions, hey are less able o advocae or pro-worker policies wihin our governmen and

help ge workers ou o voe.

Research shows ha or every percenage-poin increase in union densiy, voer urnou

increased by 0.2 o 0.25 percenage poins. Tis means ha i unionizaion raes were 10

percenage poins higher during he 2008 presidenial elecion, 2.6 million o 3.2 million

more ciizens would have voed.

Unions also help ranslae workers’ ineress o eleced ofcials and ensure ha govern-

men serves he economic needs o he middle class. Tey do his by encouraging he

public o suppor cerain policies as well as by direcly advocaing or specic reorms.

Unions were criical in securing governmen policies ha suppor he middle class suchas Social Securiy, he Aordable Care Ac, amily leave, and minimum-wage laws.

Indeed, his may be a large par o why many conservaives suppor righ-o-work laws.

Research demonsraes ha supporers’ claims ha hese laws will creae jobs and

srenghen local economies are no credible. Insead, supporers may back hese laws as

a preex or atacking an already weakened union movemen in hopes o crippling i as a

poliical orce and as an advocae or all workers.

Te botom line: Righ-o-work laws work agains he criical needs o our economy, our

sociey, and our democracy.

 David Madland is Director of the American Worker Project at the Center for American

 Progress Action Fund. Karla Walter is a Senior Policy Analyst with the project. Ross Eisenbrey

is vice president of the Economic Policy Institute.