Right to Work gives states a competitive advantage

by Paul Kersey CNBC released its rankings of the friendliest states for business last week. Illinois dropped further down the list, but one nearby state is climbing, in large part because its elected officials passed a Right-to-Work law. CNBC’s Scott Cohn took notice, reporting that the Michigan moved from 33rd to 29th. CNBC’s rating of the state’s...

by Paul Kersey

CNBC released its rankings of the friendliest states for business last week. Illinois dropped further down the list, but one nearby state is climbing, in large part because its elected officials passed a Right-to-Work law. CNBC’s Scott Cohn took notice, reporting that the Michigan moved from 33rd to 29th. CNBC’s rating of the state’s workforce shot up from 38th place to 15th.

Right-to-work means that employees in unionized companies cannot be forced to join or otherwise pay union dues in order to keep their jobs. While it does not make it harder for workers to bring in a union, it does ensure that workers can withhold financial support from a union that does not serve their best interests. This makes unions more responsive to the men and women they represent, and also ensures that a union’s money and clout match up roughly with the support that it actually has in the workforce.

By itself Right to Work doesn’t automatically turn a state around overnight, but over the long haul it does seem to improve a state’s ability to attract jobs, and wages in Right-to-Work states are catching up to those in states where workers can be forced to pay union dues.

Unions have a role to play, but a worker’s best friend is a growing economy where jobs are plentiful and employers are forced to compete with each other to find and retain the best staff. More employers means more jobs and better wages, and employers like right-to-work laws. If Illinois’ leaders want to get the state out of its current slow growth and high-unemployment rut, enacting a Right-to-Work law would definitely help.