There are 22 right-to-work states in the U.S. and Wisconsin is not one of them.
Oklahoma is the only right-to-work state among the 10 states with the worst job growth forecast.
If a reverse migration continues, the right-to-work states will soon have the last laugh.
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Many of these states have right-to-work laws, which make it easier for employees to remain non-union.
However, the data does not specify whether such migrations were due exclusively to right-to-work laws.
Auto manufacturers with their operations mainly in right-to-work states were never in danger of bankruptcy.
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The pattern in new right-to-work states is that union membership plunges when it is voluntary.
Conservatives are elated and liberals are upset today as Michigan became a right-to-work state.
On December 11 the governor of Michigan, a bastion of organized labor, signed a right-to-work law.
Right-to-work laws would not curb that monopoly power, he said, and therefore could not be justified.
In these cases liberal are describing the situation correctly as right-to-work decreasing freedom via a restriction in contracts.
Let me give an example that illustrates how right-to-work law affects freedom to contract under current labor laws.
It's no coincidence that right-to-work states have shown higher rates of economic growth than states that permit forced unionization.
Over the past two years, Michigan and Indiana passed right-to-work legislation, and the latter phased out its estate tax.
The passing of a right-to-work law in Michigan is a hugely significant development.
Still, there might be myriad alternate causalities for this job growth that might not be directly tied to right-to-work laws.
All but two of the 20 states with the smallest union presence are right-to-work states (Colorado and New Mexico are the exceptions).
The latest example is Michigan, which is the home of the modern industrial union movement and recently has become a right-to-work state.
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Or, more to the point, do right-to-work laws actually produce better teachers?
But can he sell that populist message to non-union autoworkers and their bosses in right-to-work states like Tennessee, Alabama and South Carolina?
When Michigan became the 24th right-to-work state late last year, everyone knew unions would try to overturn or otherwise neuter the law.
The non-union auto industry is flourishing in the south in right-to-work states.
According to the Census Bureau, right-to-work states enjoyed a 11.3% net increase of new residents over the past decade compared to non-right-to-work states.
By definition, right-to-work laws grant workers the freedom to reject union membership dues, even if they join a union and enjoy all its benefits.
Ron Paul has been running an ad noting Mr. Santorum's vote against federal right-to-work legislation, which would restrict unions from forcing membership and dues.
His popularity suffered late last year after he signed right-to-work legislation that weakened organized labor in the home of the United Auto Workers union.
One bright idea is to renegotiate contracts now to lock teachers into paying union dues after the right-to-work law goes into effect in March.
In this case right-to-work, by preventing the mandatory dues, is restricting a voluntary contract, and it is more like the first Best Buy example.
Against that backdrop, most self-styled conservatives probably would be surprised to learn that in his 1962 book, Capitalism and Freedom, Friedman opposed right-to-work laws.
Currently, the NLRB is trying to force Boeing to fire thousands of workers from its factory in Charleston because South Carolina is a right-to-work state.
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