America
mentioned as a top candidate for a running-mate slot for Republicans in 2016, made her intentions clear in her state-of-the-state address. “I firmly believe that every person
should be allowed to choose for them- selves whether they want to join a union or contribute to one,” she declared. “It is fundamen- tally wrong to require member- ship, or to take money from the paychecks of our workers, in order to get a job.” Martinez called right to work
a way “to protect the paychecks of New Mexico workers.” But passing the law there won’t be easy, as Democrats still control the state Senate. Another battle over right to
majority there as well. That two prom- inent conservative Republican gover- nors in the Midwest do not appear to be supporting right-to-work initiatives may come as a surprise: Gov. Scott Walker in Wisconsin and Gov. John
“I firmly believe that every person should be allowed to choose for themselves whether they want to join a union or contribute to one.” — Gov. Susana Martinez, New Mexico
work is heating up in West Virginia, whose governor is Earl Ray Tomblin, a Democrat. One day after Republicans seized control of the Mountain State’s House chamber, the Senate unexpect- edly fell into its hands as well when a Democratic state senator changed his party affiliation to give the GOP the
Kasich of Ohio. Walker has discour- aged passage of right to work as “a distraction,” although it is believed he would probably sign a bill if it made its way to his desk. That is less clear in the case of Kasich, who said in an inter- view with the Northeast Ohio Media Group, “As long as I’m governor, I do
not anticipate a need for that, period.” It was Kasich, after all, whose effort to roll back collective bargaining for pub- lic-sector workers received a stinging rebuke from Ohio voters in Novem- ber 2011, when they voted overwhelm- ingly to protect the unions that represent public employees. That unions are counting
on two governors who have a record of challenging Big Labor to fend off right-to-work legisla- tion may show just how much they’re on the defensive. Mix says political battles may
limit the expansion of right-to- work statutes to just one or two states this year. But he hastens to add that compulsory union dues are “a political loser” in his
view, and predicts that right to work will one day prevail nationwide. “We know that compulsory union-
ism will be stopped,” he says. “We are going to win this fight. Unions are going to end up realizing that their best busi- ness model is representing workers who choose to join them voluntarily.”
Big Labor’s Clout Crumbles in Pro-Union Michigan T
he track record of right-to-work legislation in Michigan may be one reason why legislators in other states
suddenly feel emboldened. When Michigan became the 24th state to forbid union
contributions as a condition of employment in December 2012, some 10,000 protesters jammed the state Capitol. Union leaders, fearful of declining contributions, made no secret of their plan to exact painful political payback on their opponents. In a state known for its waning
MICHIGAN’S DECLINING UNION MEMBERSHIP
YEAR
manufacturing sector, many observers predicted that Michigan labor unions would orchestrate a major political backlash against Republicans in 2014. But despite an avalanche of union money, not one incumbent Michigan legislator who voted for right-to-work legislation was defeated on Election Day. And GOP Gov. Rick Snyder, an outspoken supporter of right to work, was re-elected by over 125,000 votes.
30 NEWSMAX | MARCH 2015
2004 2013 2014
PERCENT 22
16.3 14.5
Mark A. Mix, president of the Springfield, Va.-based National
Right to Work Committee, concedes that the pro-GOP wave has given the right-to-work issue a boost, but says, “I also think the right-to-work issue has helped the political trend.” Union strength in Michigan appears to
be caught in a long-term slide. As recently as 2004, union membership in the state stood at about 22 percent of the workforce. But with the auto sector in decline, that share dropped to 16.3 percent by 2013. Union membership took another big hit in 2014, the first year in which many workers could stop paying union dues without losing their jobs. Michigan unions lost nearly 50,000 members, dropping to 14.5 percent of the workforce. Fewer members means less money for
unions, whose political contributions flow overwhelmingly into Democratic coffers. An analysis by the Center for Responsive Politics shows that between 1989 and 2014, 14 of the nation’s 25 largest political donors were labor unions. — A.H.
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