The Truth About Right to Work: It's Legal, Boosts Economic Growth, and Protects Employee Choice

1. My Check…My ChoiceThe Truth About Local Right to Work

2. It’s Legal… The Union threatened every county in Kentucky (and every state) with language like this: “Given the clear breach of law… counties that go down this harmful path can expect a response that brings the full weight of the law and the power of public opinion to bear- until every county ordinance is nullified.” AFL-CIO letter to County Officials in KY 1-9-15 13 Counties passed RTW. One got sued. It won. No ordinances were “nullified.” No fees or damages were paid to the unions, their lawyers or anyone else. No one voting for the ordinance lost their job because of their vote – just like no one in Michigan (Michigan!) lost their job when they voted for state-wide RTW. Within 2 years, the state passed it’s own RTW law, and the counties that passed it first had a 2 year head start at economic development.

3. It’s Legal… The highest court to consider the issue, the United States 6th Circuit Court of Appeals: “Political subdivisions are components of the state, within the state, that exercise governmental power of the state.” UAW v Hardin County (6th Circuit, 2016) “Other provisions of the Taft-Hartley Act make it even clearer than the National Labor Relations Act that the States are left free to pursue their own more restrictive policies in the matter of union-security agreements. Because § 8 (3) of the new Act forbids the closed shop and strictly regulates the conditions under which a union-shop agreement may be entered, § 14 (b) was included to forestall the inference that federal policy was to be exclusive.” Algoma Plywood, 336 U.S. at 314 (1948) The Supreme Court viewed Section 14(b)’s legislative history “as making clear and unambiguous the purpose of Congress not to preempt the field.”  Schermerhorn, 375 U.S. at 102.   When Congress enacted Section 14(b), it did not grant new authority to states and territories, but merely recognized and affirmed their existing authority.” NLRB v. Pueblo of San Juan, 276 F.3d 1186, 1197 (10th Cir. 2002)

4. What IS Right to Work Right to Work simply means that an employee cannot be required to join a union or fired because they did not pay union does. Right to Work DOES NOT prohibit unions from organizing, or doing collective bargaining. Companies in Right to Work states DO have unions. Right to Work fully protects an employee’s ability to join a union, if they so choose. Right to Work allows employees to pay if they feel they are getting their moneys’ worth or not pay if they don’t. Union officials make less in RTW states… but employees really do not.

5. Why is Right to Work Important? – The KY example: Right to Work laws boosted average personal income growth by 0.8% from 1947 through 2011. If a state would have otherwise grown at 2%, adding another 0.8% is a 40% improvement in its growth rate. According to the National Institute for Labor Relations, Tennessee’s 3 most populated counties bordering Kentucky – Montgomery, Robertson, and Sumner – showed nearly 16% growth in private sector employment between 2002 and 2012. Employment in the 3 most populated counties along that same border in Kentucky grew by less that 4% during that same time The US Department of Commerce reported that the percentage of growth in total private sector jobs over the past decade was 15.3% for states with Right to Work, as opposed to 7.3% in states with out them. Kentucky staggered in at 6.9% Growth in real manufacturing GDP was 31.8% in Right to Work States, 20.6% in others. In Kentucky, 9.3% After RTW passed in Warren County, over $1B worth of potential projects came into the pipeline of economic development – more than the rest of the state

6. What does it take to pass… • Political professionals experienced at state, local and federal campaigns • Provide political support, collateral, legal coordination • local grassroots activists from grassroots groups who share a “libertarian” view of labor • Support from Heritage, AFP, ATR, ALEC, and other respected thought leaders

7. Litigation Strategy • Pick favorable State and Federal Jurisdictions • Need a handful of committed, well respected firms • Support from local business community • Keep the pressure on in multiple jxn at once

8. Why hasn’t this been done? • NRTW is focused on national and state legislation • County by County, City by City is more time consuming… but it’s more time consuming (and resource draining) for the union to fight • “Make the enemy live up to their own book of rules” Saul Alynsky, Rules for Radicals • Social Media makes this feasible for the first time – this is the “bottom up” community organizing strategy • Requires coordination from political professionals and resource sharing

9. What’s in it for me?

10. Employers… • If you don’t have a union, you are less vulnerable because unions tend to avoid right to work jurisdictions – it is just not as lucrative • Tie the union up protecting what they have so they do not devote as much time to “expanding market share” • If you do have a union, being on the side of your employees drives a wedge in between them and the union bosses – a wedge you can leverage in negotiations • Loss of dues payers is an indicia of the union’s loss of majority status… it opens up a host of possibilities

11. Develop Community Support • Grassroots activism gives you allies in the community – employees and families • They help on this AND other initiatives of importance to your business, your industry, and your employees • Trip wires in the community let you know the threats – internal and external – to your business • Large multi-nationals had great DC lobbyists and no local support and paid dearly for it…

12. Community Leaders… • Make yourself more attractive to new employers… • AND existing employers who may not want to leave, but are forced out by a hostile business climate in the state, or the legislature • Free up dollars that go OUT of the community now, that will stay IN the community if the dues stop • Fewer dues means less labor dollars supporting candidates who are hostile to business

13. I’m in… how can I help? • Local fundraising in the business community • Coordination ensures efforts are targeted and coordinated and ultimately successful • Start with your own employees whether you are union or non union employer • Legal Team