Michigan has become the 24th state with a “right to work” law, which makes it illegal for collective bargaining agreements to require nonunion employees to pay fees. Since the actual effect of RTW laws is to restrict workers’ rights—by making it illegal for them to enter voluntary contracts with unions to collect union dues—the name of these laws is very misleading. Even more misleading, however, are claims that these laws boost a state’s economy.
With RTW a controversial economic issue that will continue to be hotly debated in 2013, here is some of EPI’s recent work on the topic:
Reports
- Policy Memo #199 (Dec. 11, 2012): Indiana Experience Offers Little Hope for Michigan “Right-to-Work” Law
- Issue Brief #326 (Feb. 7, 2012): Right To Work: A Failed Policy: A New Hampshire update
- Briefing Paper #333 (Jan. 3, 2012): Working hard to make Indiana look bad: The tortured, uphill case for ‘right-to-work’
- Briefing Paper #326 (Sept. 15, 2011): ‘Right to work:’ The wrong answer for Michigan’s economy
- Briefing Paper #307 (April 5, 2011): ‘Right-to-work’ wrong for New Hampshire
- Briefing Paper #300 (Feb. 28, 2011): Does ‘right-to-work’ create jobs? Answers from Oklahoma
- Policy Memo #174 (Feb. 28, 2011): What’s wrong with ‘right-to-work:’ Chamber’s numbers don’t add up
- Briefing Paper #299 (Feb. 17, 2011): The compensation penalty of ‘right-to-work’ laws
Economic Snapshots
- ‘Right-to-work’ hurts private-sector pension coverage (Jan. 9, 2012)
- Right-to-work law did not help Oklahoma’s labor market (March 3, 2011)
Blog posts and commentary
- Don’t be fooled, Michigan: ‘Right to work’ is just plain wrong (Dec. 7, 2012)
- ‘Right to work’ in Indiana is another victory for the 1% (Feb. 3, 2012)
- What ‘right-to-work’ means for Indiana’s workers: A pay cut (Jan. 12, 2012)
- Jim DeMint’s race to the bottom (May 26, 2011)
- Why New Hampshire doesn’t need ‘right to work’ (Feb. 17, 2011)
