Mark Gaffney: 'Right to Work' Movement a Distraction, Will Not Solve Michigan's Problems
The right-to-work argument that was spelled out by the Mackinac Center in the Monday Daily Dash last week was nothing more than a distraction launched by out of state, right-wing extremists who want to do nothing more in Michigan than advance their political agendas.
When you take a look at the facts about right-to-work instead of the “Mackinac Myths” you’ll find that by no means is it the magic economic elixir that will cure Michigan of all that ails it as some would want us to believe. It’s just more Washington, D.C., Tom DeLay spin and is the recipe to turn Michigan more like Mississippi than economic turn around.
Fact: in July, the state that suffered the most job loss was not Michigan, but North Carolina – a Right to Work state. For that same time period, The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported the states with the biggest month-to-month increases in jobs were Texas, Maryland , New York and South Carolina . Neither New York nor Maryland have RTW laws, so they do not suffer from what the Mackinac Center called “the significant high cost of labor.”
The fact of the matter is that those states that have RTW laws do have a consistently lower quality of life than non-RTW states. RTW states have lower median household incomes, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, by about $5,900. But the cuts go deeper than just income; according to the U.S. Census, RTW states consistently have a higher poverty rate, a higher rate of population without healthcare, and even a higher infant mortality rate! According to the National Education Association, RTW state even spends over $2,000 less on each pupil. From pocketbooks to classrooms, the negative effects of RTW laws are felt.
The Mackinac Center also would lead us to believe that unions can use membership dues to advance political causes by contributing to candidates, when in reality, unions have not been able to donate to candidates using “compulsory dues” money since 1994. Yet another distraction.
So who’s responsible for the so-called right-to-work movement? There’s not a lot of support for it amongst Michigan business leadership, the vice president of the Michigan Chamber of Commerce was recently quoted as saying that he was concerned that “Michigan may be turned into a playground for some out of state interests with a national agenda.” He fears they may parachute into Michigan and then get out of town and not have to live to with consequences. Even L. Brooks Pattterson, who the Mackinac Center listed as a supporter has publicly said that he “wouldn’t champion any effort to get RTW on the (statewide) ballot.”
It’s the Washington based National Right to Work Committee, supported by such right-wing extremists as Grover Norquist, Tom Delay, the late Jerry Falwell, Wal-Mart and union busting attorneys, that is trying to impose their will on Michigan.
So as you think about this issue, be sure to look past the weapons of mass distraction of the far right-wing and examine the facts: RTW would bring lower wages and quality of life without really giving Michigan any real advantage as we fight for jobs in the current global economic climate.
As University of Central Oklahoma economics professor Mickey Hepner recently said: “We’re competing against Mexico and China and Honduras and India for labor, and frankly, no matter how far labor costs go down (in the USA), it’s still going to be cheaper to produce things over there than here in Oklahoma. Right-to-work is not going to stop that globalization process.”
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