Indiana Turns Up Heat on Right-to-Work Laws

The state outlawed forcing employees to join a union or pay union dues to work.

February 28, 2012

INDIANAPOLIS - Earlier this month, Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels signed into law legislation that made it illegal to make workers join a union or pay union dues in order to work, the Washington Post reports. Indiana becomes the first right-to-work state in more than 10 years, igniting a new wave of debate on anti-union measures.

"Seven years of evidence and experience ultimately demonstrated that Indiana did need a right-to-work law to capture jobs for which, despite our highly-rated business climate, we are not currently being considered," said Daniels in a statement released after he signed the law.

States have begun to embrace such reasoning as residents clamor for work in the years after the recession. To lure more businesses to their states, lawmakers are starting to push for right-to-work laws. In 2011, several state legislatures considered state right-to-work bills, although none passed.

Indiana becomes the 23rd state with a right-to-work law. "It does mean that Indiana is likely to get a lot of business expansion that might otherwise go into Michigan, especially in the western part of the state," said Paul Kersey, director of labor policy at the conservative Mackinac Center for Public Policy in Midland, Mich. "But pretty much the entire state has the potential to be affected by that. Right-to-work is a big draw for employers."

Opponents criticize right-to-work legislation as letting non-union employees benefit from union-negotiated pay and benefits without paying. Studies have pointed out that wages for union and non-union employees drop in right-to-work states.

The South and Great Plains states host the most right-to-work laws, which do a good job of bringing in businesses. In 2010, Virginia became the only right-to-work state to make the top 10 new economy states.

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