Will RI’s shift to a Right to Work state boost our economy?

The right to choose or not having the right to choose; that is the question. With Michigan, the poster state for union power strong hold, becoming the nation’s 24th Right to Work (RTW) state, a number of people are wondering if Rhode Island becoming a RTW state would improve our dismal economy. Before we dive into the facts, what exactly does right to work mean? It simply means if you work for a unionized employer, then you have the right to choose whether or not
you want to join the union. Currently, if you work for a unionized employer you are forced against your will to pay union dues. We live in the land of the free, so why is it so bad for employees to be free to choose whether they want to join a union and pay dues?

Despite what the opposition wants you to believe, RTW states still allow employees to collectively bargain under union representation, and more importantly, RTW states provide employees the freedom to organize and join unions if they wish. It grants the right to choose!

Not only do RTW states give employees the right to choose, historically they also enjoy greater economic growth. The National Institute for Labor Relations Research, from 2001 to 2011, documented that employment in right to work states grew by 2.4 percent, while employment in union states fell by 3.4 percent. Imagine if RI’s employment numbers could GROW by 2.4 percent. Just think of what this would mean to so many struggling families! In this same time frame wages actually increased by 12.5 percent in RTW states.

The National Institute for Labor Relations conducted a study comparing economic drivers in RTW states vs. non-RTW states. The  Percentage Growth in Real Personal Income (1995-2005) increased 26 percent in RTW states compared to only 19 percent in non-RTW states. The Percentage Growth in Number of People Covered by Employment Based Private Health Insurance (1995-2005) increased by 8.5 percent in RTW states compared to only 0.7 percent in non-RTW states.

If the facts display that turning RI into a RTW state could improve employment and make our cost of living more affordable, then why would anyone without a political agenda be against it? What is so bad about giving employees the right to choose? Remember, it’s about families not politics!