OPINION:
Who speaks for workers?
It’s an urgent question nationwide as federal and state lawmakers debate whether to repeal right-to-work laws – something the Michigan state legislature is doing right now. These laws free workers from being forced to join a union and pay dues, and unions invariably oppose them while claiming to advocate on workers’ behalf. Yet as our two very different states show, when workers – including union members – speak for themselves, they clearly say they want this freedom. Lawmakers should listen to them, not those who claim to speak on their behalf.
Right-to-work laws have been around for just over 75 years, and in that time, 27 states have embraced worker freedom. That includes our home states of Tennessee, which is deep red, and Michigan, which is purple-to-blue. Yet in the past few months, both states have seen coordinated union campaigns to undermine these laws on the grounds that right-to-work is wrong for workers. The same argument is being made by President Biden and D.C. Democrats, who’ve spent the last two years trying to pass a nationwide ban on state right-to-work laws.
There’s just one problem: Workers disagree.
Consider what happened in Tennessee. Last November, voters got to choose whether to enshrine right-to-work in the state constitution. A staggering 70% of Tennesseans supported this amendment, yet what’s even more important is that it received majority support in every single county – including liberal and blue-collar ones.
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