Last Friday, House Republican Rep. Tom Brinkman Jr. (R-27) announced his intentions to introduce a private sector Right-to-Work (is Wrong) bill. This bill would coincide with the public sector union-busting legislation, House Bill 53, that was introduced last week.
While OCSEA knows full well that the bill would decimate the wages, benefits and safety of workers, Brinkman wants to bust unions to favor business owners at the expense of everyday Ohioans.
And other anti-worker lawmakers claim that because "neighboring states of Michigan, Kentucky, West Virginia, and Indiana have passed Right to Work," that it's "long overdue here in Ohio.” Brinkman said in his letter looking for cosponsors that workers are being "forced" into unions and this law would stop that.
But that’s exactly where he’s WRONG about Right to Work! No employee is forced to join a union.
Workers aren’t being forced into paying dues and belonging to unions. This is diatribe and lies by anti-union, pro-corporation legislators and those who feed their coffers. They are choosing to belong to and be active in their unions because they want a true and unified voice in the workplace.The majority of Americans support unionization, with six-in-ten having a favorable view of unions.
Union contracts raise wages, benefits and the standard of living for everyone, not just the union member. It has been proven that in states where union rights are stripped away by lawmakers, communities are poorer and workers at more at risk.
In states with Right to Work laws:
- the Median household incomes are $535 less per month.
- the rate of workplace deaths is 36% higher.
- you are more likely to be uninsured and there are more uninsured children.
- there is higher unemployment (6 of the 10 states with the highest unemployment rate.
- the poverty rates are higher, more children live in poverty and the infant mortality rate is 15 percent higher.
Read more about states with Right to Work.
Interestingly enough, voters have never passed a ballot measure on this issue because they know Right To Work (is Wrong)—further proof that workers don’t support it. In the 28 states that have passed Right To Work (is Wrong), those laws were bullied through their legislatures in record time by extreme lawmakers. Governors in those states signed those laws even though they initially claimed they didn’t support them.
Ohio knows this best of all with the defeat of Senate Bill 5 in 2011. And politicians on both sides of the aisle agree that Right to Work is wrong for Ohio and should just go away.
“The people of Ohio have spoken very clearly about how they feel about that issue," Sen. Scott Oelslager, a North Canton Republican, said during a panel discussion sponsored by the Associated Press.
"It wasn't just union people fighting the [Senate Bill 5 ]bill– it was Ohioans fighting the bill because they understand the negative implications of a piece of legislation like that," said Sen. Minority Leader Joe Schiavoni from the Youngstown area.
Read about House Bill 53, the public sector Right to Work (is Wrong) bill.
See the 10 reasons why Right to Work is Wrong!