Wisconsin Now a “Right-to-Work” State; Unions Sue

Wisconsin Now a “Right-to-Work” State; Unions Sue

by Jane Harred

On Monday, March 9, 2015, Scott Walker signed “right-to-work” legislation into law.  The law became effective immediately.   Earlier this year, Walker and some of his Republican colleagues had said that such legislation was not a priority.  The bill passed the legislature with all but one Republican voting for it, all Democrats voting against.

The Wisconsin state AFL-CIO, joined by a machinists’ union in Milwaukee and a steelworkers’ union in Menasha, filed suit against the law the day after Walker signed it.  

The law makes it a crime for a private business to enter into any agreement that requires workers to join a union or pay union dues.  The lawsuit against the legislation argues that it is unconstitutional because it requires unions to act on behalf of workers who do not pay dues and who therefore receive benefits the unions are required by federal law to provide but which the workers do not pay for, thereby depriving the unions of property.

 Several studies provide evidence that “right-to-work” laws have numerous negative effects and bear out opponents’ claims that “right to work” really means “right to work for less.”

A recent study by the Economic Policy Institute found that “right-to-work” laws lower wages, reduce the chances of getting health insurance through one’s workplace, and reduce the odds of getting a pension from one’s employer.  

The study also examined the influence of “right-to-work” laws on other quality-of-life factors and found that overall poverty rates and child poverty rates are higher in “right-to-work” states, as are instances of child abuse, violent crime, and births to teenage girls.  “Right-to-work” states tend to have lower high-school graduation rates and fewer physicians per 10,000 people than states with no “right-to-work” laws.  

Another recent study,  which was conducted by Dr. Abdur Chowdhury, professor of economics at Marquette University, and whose results were by Marquette in January, concluded that “right-to-work” legislation will have serious economic and social costs for Wisconsin.  

Chowdhury’s study estimates that Wisconsin families will lose between $3.89 and $4.82 billion in direct income as a result of this legislation.  The state of Wisconsin will lose an estimated $234 to $289 million in tax revenue.

In addition to other negative impacts of “right to work” laws, Chowdhury’s study notes that “right-to-work” states also have higher rates of gender and racial wage inequality and higher rates of workplace fatalities than states without such laws.  Chowdhury adds that these laws encourage good workers to leave “right-to-work” states to seek higher wages, and the laws’ negative influence on wages lowers consumer spending and thus reduces income tax revenues and sales tax revenues.