Indiana has become the first Rust Belt state to enact a right-to-work labor law, prohibiting employment contracts that require
workers to pay union fees or join unions.
Gov. Mitch Daniels signed the bill Wednesday afternoon after it passed the Indiana Senate hours earlier following weeks of
discord that saw House Democrats boycott the Legislature and thousands of protesters gather at the Statehouse.
Indiana is the first state in a decade to enact a right-to-work law.
"Seven years of evidence and experience ultimately demonstrated that Indiana did need a right-to-work law to capture
jobs for which, despite our highly rated business climate, we are not currently being considered," Daniels said in a
statement. A spokeswoman said he would not take questions on the measure Wednesday.
Supporters say the measure helps create a pro-business climate that attracts employers and increases jobs. Opponents say
right-to-work laws lead to lower wages and poorer quality jobs.
Protesters say the fight isn't over and note that Indiana passed right-to-work legislation once before, but repealed
it. Some plan to distribute leaflets at Sunday's Super Bowl.
Hundreds of union workers were downtown Wednesday to protest the bill in front of the Statehouse and at the Super Bowl Village on nearby Georgia Street.
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business starts or expansions (due to no RTWFL), and we were already one of the most successful states (especially in the midwest)
in attracting new business, we better see some immediate benefit from this law. The
Republicans need to be able to recite chapter
and verse every new job generated by November
or be prepared to jump in line with everyone else looking for a job.
Can Hoosier's recall the governor? Lawmakers as they are trying to do in Wisconsin?
The answer is no. They don't have to pay dues per the RTW law. They will, however, enjoy the benefits and negotiated wages of those paying union dues - yes, hard to believe, but this is the way union shops work. So they'll freeload as long as they can until the union dies off due to lack of paying members - that's when we'll see the true effects of RTW. In the short term, life is good and I hear that GM, Ford, and Chrysler are all moving their headquarters to Indy! Hooray for RTW!
popular but necessary to allow folks to get
fair wages and hours, and to avoid being exploited by employers. The reason you don't
understand is because of the work done by others over the past 150 years. The lethargy
you feel now is because your rights and protections were won years ago. RTW is the
organized pushback of corporate interests
to undo employee rights and benefits, and
without union labor fighting for these guarantees, get used to your wages stagnating (more), less safety and health
provisions (have you heard of TORT REFORM),
and even child labor restrictions rolled back.(Newt wants inner city kids to be part time janitors in their schools). Bottom line, labor as a component of business input is as legitimate as any other. Are you against the power company or any other supplier to business negotiating for the best deal they can get? Frankly, an oil company, or other critical vendor to a business, could be much more devastating to the future of their success than labor (generally a partner for making
a business work well). Try getting Exxon
to lower prices to keep your business viable.
Don't hate your neighbors - This is not us v.
them but a movement to protect people - EVERYWHERE.
Again, thanks for coming and dropping some coin. Hopefully you can keep RTW out of your states so the jobs will all come here to Indiana.
Can't the unions make membership attractive enough that people would elect to join and pay dues? Otherwise, what good are they? I'm really struggling to understand this....
you need to grow some more skin. Send a link
to something relevant.
BTW, you better hurry, the Hitler Youth
meeting starts at 6:30.
Thanks for wasting our time.
Check this map out.
http://www.nrtw.org/rtws.htm
I think the out of town union members just wanted union paid transportation and lodging to Indy for the Super Bowl party.
your page. We're going to start another column
next to the one labeled "Jobs created in Indiana since the change to Daylight Savings
Time".