A Georgia Tech study has found that so-called “right-to-work” laws lead to a decrease in worker wages, confirming what labor unions have known for decades.
A study published in the Journal of Financial Economics examined more than 19,000 collective bargaining agreements in the United States between 1988 and 2016 and asserts that it is the “first paper to use wage information embedded in these contracts.”
“Companies are out for big money. They’re not out to protect to workers,” said Craig Norman, Director of the IAM’s Collective Bargaining Department. “They’re out to maximize their profitability at the expense of workers. We’re trying to get a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work.”
The study found wage growth of 2.9 percent, with inflation at 2.6 percent, suggesting that the applicable RTW laws “eliminated a substantial fraction of real wage growth.”
When workers negotiate together, working people earn higher wages. The average worker in a RTW state makes $6,109 less per year than a worker in a free-bargaining state, according to the AFL-CIO. Twenty-eight states have RTW laws, mostly in the Midwest, South and Southwest, according to the Economic Policy Institute (EPI).
The authors of the study are Sudheer Chava, András Danis and Alex Hsu, professors at the Georgia Institute of Technology’s Scheller College of Business.
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“Right to Work” laws degrade and devalue the American middle class.
This law creates a legal method for corporations to undermine unions. Eliminating “right to work” laws would strengthen unions. The name of this law is misleading. It should be named the “right to work for less money” law, or the “take advantage of me please” law.
Many Americans blame unions for the exportation of American manufacturing jobs. Because union workers are expensive. Too expensive for American companies to make a profit. So corporate America has waged a successful misinformation campaign.
The truth is that in China, India, and Mexico, for example, the government imposes fewer or no regulations on corporations. Hence, more profit. Also, if no laws are broken when an employee loses her life or limbs or whatever, that is another windfall for corporate America.
Today CEOs, CFOs,…etc , make way more money than their predecessors.
I would ask that my union commit to marketing the truth. For whatever reason, a simple presentation of the truth has not worked on many Americans. We need a persuasive campaign of the facts, of truth.
Some government officials and corporations have succeeded in persuading the middle class that the lower middle class and the poor are to blame for pretty much everything.
The truth is out there, as a union I would advocate that we get the news out there so that it is heard and comprehended. This is challenging. But Unions, and Machinists do not shrink from challenges.
Thank you,