Next September will mark the ten-year anniversary that Oklahoma became the 13th Right-to-Work state, and the 22nd in America. The IAM was heavily involved in fighting against the Right-to-Work amendment to the state Constitution. Now Governors from several states are planning to introduce Right-to-Work bills, citing the need because of financial difficulties. But is Right-to-Work a panacea for tough economic times, or is budget problems just an excuse to take worker rights away?
The last decade in Oklahoma tells the tale. The Economic Policy Institute released a study about Right-to-Work and job growth. From the EPI:
Right-to-work laws have been implemented in 22 states, predominantly in the South and Southwest, starting as far back as 1947. But what is their actual track record in spurring employment growth? And what is the likelihood that, in today’s economy, a state deciding to adopt the 23rd right-to-work statute would see its job market improve?
This report examines the track record of right-towork laws in boosting employment growth. In particular, we examine in depth the experience of Oklahoma, which in 2001 became the most recent state to adopt an RTW law. The majority of RTW states enacted their laws more than 30 years ago; the second-most recent statute adopted is that of Idaho, passed in 1985. Because economic conditions have changed greatly in the past decades, and because better data are available for more recent years, the case of Oklahoma is particularly illuminating regarding the potential impact of such laws on states considering them.
Despite ambitious claims by proponents, the evidence is overwhelming that:
• Right-to-work laws have not succeeded in boosting employment growth in the states that have adopted them.
• The case of Oklahoma – closest in time to the conditions facing those states now considering such legislation – is particularly discouraging regarding the law’s ability to spur job growth. Since the law passed in 2001, manufacturing employment and relocations into the state reversed their climb and began to fall, precisely the opposite of what right-towork advocates promised.
• For those states looking beyond traditional or lowwage manufacturing jobs – whether to higher-tech manufacturing, to “knowledge” sector jobs, or to service industries dependent on consumer spending in the local economy – there is reason to believe that right-to-work laws may actually harm a state’s economic prospects.
Of course, Oklahoma Machinists also remember the promises well. "Governor Frank Keating, the newspaper The Daily Oklahoman, and Senators pushing for Right-to-Work said there there were hundreds of companies just waiting on the border to set up in Oklahoma just as soon as Right-to-Work passed," said District Lodge 171 DBR Jerry McCune. "Of course, it was all a lie, and there were no companies. They shut up about it. Soon after it was passed, Gov. Keating stepped down from the office, and left the state himself."
The study is important and an interesting read for anyone who is hearing states talk about how Right-to-Work will bring in jobs. "Don't listen to them," said DBR McCune. "It's all smoke and mirrors. It's just about weakening the union movement. It doesn't help the workers of the state, and doesn't bring in any jobs."
