MEA VOICE At Issue
Don't be misled by Right to Work scam
Michigan may be the target this year of a scam ballot initiative called Right to Work.
Much like other deceptive ballot initiatives, this out-of-state proposal twists the truth, pretending to be about everyone’s right to have a job. But its true intentions are simply an attack on workers’ rights and unions.
Right to Work doesn’t have anything
to do with your rights to a job. All this
law would do is allow workers to receive
the benefits of being in a union without
having to pay dues or agency shop fees.
It forces unions to spend resources and
members’ dues on these “free riders.”
Federal law already protects workers who don’t want to be members of the union—everyone must pay their fair share for negotiating and administering their contract, and that’s only fair.
Proponents of this anti-worker proposal tout its economic benefits. But the facts from the 22 Right to Work states tell a very different story. The average worker in a Right to Work state makes $6,590 less annually than their counterpart in a free bargaining/union state. Workers in Right to Work states also are less likely to have health benefits.
Of particular interest to public school employees, Right to Work states spend $2,500 less per pupil on K-12 education, and high school dropout rates run 18 percent higher in Right to Work states. This scam is bad for Michigan’s economy, Michigan’s students and Michigan’s workers. Don’t let Michigan fall into this trap.
