National Institute for Labor Relations Research - Fact Sheets

Michigan Trails Right to Work States In Real, Disposable Per Capita Income

Mon, 21 Apr 2008 09:18:42 -0400

Residents of Every Midwestern Right to Work State Are Better off Than Michiganians

Just a few years ago, Colorado State University business professor Raymond Hogler, one of the most prominent academic opponents of state Right to Work laws in the U.S., acknowledged (in a paper coauthored with economist Robert LaJeunesse): “A number of studies present statistical data substantiating the point that right to work states create and retain more manufacturing jobs.”

The Hogler-LaJeunesse concession regarding factory jobs also applies to private-sector jobs in general. Between 2002 and 2007, for example, private-sector jobs in Right to Work states increased by a net 9.6%. That’s nearly triple the relatively small increase in private-sector jobs experienced by non-Right to Work states over this period.

Non-Right to Work Michigan, where Big Labor wields “exclusive” (monopoly) power to bargain with employers over the wages, benefits, and work rules of a higher share of private-sector employees than in all but one other state in the continental U.S., has an especially dismal employment picture. Along with forced-dues Ohio, which suffered a 0.4% private-sector job decline from 2002-2007, Michigan is one of just two states with negative job growth over the five year period. And Michigan’s decline of 5.2% is far worse than Ohio’s.

To continue reading the rest of the article, click on the attachment below.

Private-Sector Job Growth Faster in Right to Work States

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0400

Study Reveals Right to Work States’ Lead in Job Growth Consistent Over Time

The National Institute for Labor Relations Research today released its annual study comparing private-sector job growth in Right to Work states with private-sector job growth in states that do not protect employees from federal policies authorizing the termination of workers for refusal to pay dues or fees to an unwanted union.

The study reveals that not only is private-sector job growth faster in Right to Work states, but also that Right to work States’ lead in job growth is consistent over time.

See study attachment.

For further information, contact the Institute’s Senior Research Associate Stan Greer, 703-321-9606, or stg@nrtw.org.

How Much Is Pro-Forced Unionism Federal Labor Policy Costing America?

Tue, 19 Feb 2008 00:00:00 -0500

With Repeal of Forced Dues in 2000, Annual GDP Could Have Been $436 Billion Higher by 2006

No one can state with certainty the price tag of the federal labor-law provisions that authorize the firing of roughly 7.3 million Americans employees should they refuse to pay union dues or fees as a job condition.

However, data issued last fall by the U.S. Commerce Department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) indicate that, had Congress abolished federally-imposed union dues at the turn of the millennium, by 2006 the annual national economic output would have increased by an additional $436 billion in real 2000 dollars.

BEA data show that between 2000 and 2006 the combined real output of states with Right to Work laws barring all forced union dues and fees grew by 3.13% a year. That’s nearly half again as fast as the combined 2.11% real annual output growth of states that do not protect employees from federally-imposed forced union dues. (Oklahoma, which adopted its Right to Work law in September 2001, is excluded from this analysis. See Table I for more information.)

To put it another way, had the entire country grown as fast as the Right to Work states did over just this six-year period, by 2006 our national gross domestic product (GDP) would have been $11.727 trillion in chained 2000 dollars, $436 billion more than the actual figure of $11.291 trillion.

Reality Check For Mike Gronstal on Right to Work, Hawkeye State’s Economy

Mon, 17 Dec 2007 13:41:04 -0500

Iowa’s 2001-2006 Income, Job Growth Greater Than Every Neighboring Forced-Dues State’s

In a recent Q&A session with journalists, including Des Moines Register columnist David Yepsen and AP senior political writer Mike Glover, Iowa state Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal (D-Council Bluffs) distorted the facts about the relative performance of Iowa’s economy to justify his ongoing crusade to gut the state’s Right to Work law.

Right to Work States Benefit From Faster Growth, Higher Real Purchasing Power - 2007 Update

Wed, 24 Oct 2007 09:24:50 -0400

Five Reasons Why Congress Should Enact a National Right to Work Law

Mon, 17 Sep 2007 00:00:00 -0400

Freedom to Associate Also Means Freedom Not to Associate - The average man on the street, as well as constitutional scholars, understands that any genuine personal right should include the freedom to refrain from exercising that right.
Right to Work Bolsters Job Creation, Personal Income Growth - In addition to freeing millions of Americans from the yoke of forced union dues, a national Right to Work law would at the same time help to improve our nation’s economy.
Right to Work’s Benefits Reach Citizens at All Income Levels - In addition to protecting the freedom of association and promoting economic development, Right to Work laws are an anti-poverty program with a proven record of success.
Passage of a National Right to Work Law Would Eliminate All Forced-Dues Politicking by Private-Sector Union Bosses - Not passing a national Right to Work law means not only that American workers will be denied a brighter economic future. It also means that millions of private-sector workers will continue to be forced to contribute to political candidates they do not wish to support.
A National Right to Work Law Would Reduce Union Corruption - The incestuous relationship between forced union dues and corruption was captured perfectly by the late U.S. Sen. John McClellan (D-Ark.): “Compulsory unionism and corruption go hand in hand.” McClellan was referring to the corruption inherent within labor organizations that depend on the forced tribute of workers.

No Truce in IAFF War Against ‘Two-Hatters’

Blake — Mon, 27 Aug 2007 18:27:17 -0400

Will Congress Hand Big Labor More Power to Punish Professional Firemen Who Also Volunteer?

Right to Work Law is Helping Oklahoma Turn Into an Economic Leader

Thu, 24 May 2007 00:35:58 -0400

Sooner State No Longer Exporting Young Employees and Entrepreneurs to Other States

On September 25, 2001, a Right to Work Amendment to the Oklahoma Constitution was adopted. Oklahoma is the 22nd and, at this writing, the latest state to enact a Right to Work law. Oklahoma’s Right to Work law, which bars the extraction of forced union dues and fees from workers as a condition of employment, was the product of years of concentrated effort by thousands of citizens.

When Oklahoma Right to Work legislation was introduced back in 1993, it was supported by just 34 of 101 state representatives and 12 of 48 state senators. Because of Big Labor’s huge clout in Oklahoma City, the forced-unionism status quo seemed to be unassailable. The tide turned only because, from the 1994 through the 2000 elections, 28 pro-forced unionism legislators who had refused to change their positions were replaced by Right to Work supporters.

Almost immediately after the Sooner Right to Work law was adopted, union bosses, who had up to then been shrilly predicting that such a law would swiftly lead to disaster, moved to prevent the law from having any impact at all. When the Right to Work law had been in effect just seven weeks, Big Labor lawyers launched an underhanded bid to overturn it. This legal attack kept the Right to Work law’s future under a cloud for more than two years.

Since 2001, Right to Work States Lead in Job Growth, Five-to-One

Tue, 17 Apr 2007 00:05:40 -0400

For many years, U.S. Labor Department data have shown that states with Right to Work laws on the books have far faster private-sector job growth than states that do not protect employees from federal policies authorizing the termination of workers for refusal to pay dues or fees to an unwanted union.

Between 1996 and 2006, private-sector jobs in Right to Work states increased by a net 19.8%. That’s an 87% greater increase than the relatively small increase in private-sector jobs experienced by non-Right to Work states over this period. (See the tables on pages three and four for details. Oklahoma, which adopted its Right to Work law in 2001, is excluded from this calculation. However, between 2003, when the Sooner Supreme Court rejected two Big Labor lawsuits designed to overturn the Right to Work law, and 2006, Oklahoma job growth was 6.1%, well over half again as fast as in non-Right to Work states.)

The Right to Work job-growth advantage becomes even more critical in times when the national economy is recovering from a recession.

Over the five years from 2001 to 2006, private-sector jobs in forced-dues states barely increased at all. Over this entire period, private-sector employment went from 68.41 million to 69.25 million, a gain of just 1.2%. Meanwhile, private-sector jobs in Right to Work states increased by 2.6 million, or 6.3%, between 2001 and 2006. (Since Oklahoma was a Right to Work state for the entire period, this time it is included.)

Public-Sector Forced Union Fees Would Hurt Iowa’s Private Sector

Thu, 15 Mar 2007 18:45:19 -0400

‘Tax Freedom Day’ Comes 10 Days Earlier in States That Bar All Forced Union Fees

Iowans most recently celebrated “Tax Freedom Day” on April 18, 2006. For Americans as a group, last year Tax Freedom Day came eight days later than in Iowa, on April 26.

The term Tax Freedom Day was coined and popularized by the nonpartisan, Washington, D.C.-based Tax Foundation. As a 2006 Tax Foundation press release explained, it is “the day when Americans … finally have earned enough money to pay off their total [federal, state and local] tax burden for the year.”

Monitoring when Tax Freedom Day falls is an easy way to gauge the American citizen’s heavy tax burden, which on average comprises nearly a third of his or her income. However, residents of different states often have tax burdens that are significantly less or more onerous than the national average.