Saturday, May 21, 2011

Economic Benefits of a Right-to-Work Law

By Rebekah Rast
“There is no evidence that this legislation will offer any benefits to New Hampshire’s economy or workers,” New Hampshire Governor John Lynch said in a statement after vetoing the state’s right-to-work legislation.

Taking a closer look at the 22 states that have a right-to-work law proves Gov. Lynch’s error. There are many benefits to working in a state that gives you the option to join a union or not, such as: more new residents, more new businesses, more new jobs and faster income growth, according to a report from South Carolina Senator Jim DeMint.

Evidence of this can be taken from Boeing, which made a business decision to open a new plant in the right-to-work state of South Carolina and then hired 1,000 new workers. South Carolina would likely disagree with New Hampshire’s governor. Being a right-to-work state has benefitted it greatly.

But this hasn’t been an easy move for Boeing. The company has come under direct attack from the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). The NLRB told Boeing that its move across the country was simply an act of revenge against the workers union in the company’s home state of Washington. Since Boeing did not layoff one unionized worker in Washington, and in fact added 2,000 new union jobs in the state since announcing its South Carolina decision, this argument doesn’t stand much ground.
Get full story here.

No comments: