National Right to Work Committee®
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We at the National Right to Work Committee are fighting at many levels to protect America's working men and women's right to decide for themselves whether or not a union deserves their financial support.
Whether it be in the state and federal legislatures, the courts, or hearing rooms at the FEC or the NLRB, we fight to ensure that workers join unions because they want to – not out of fear or federal mandate.
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Letter to Shreveport Times
FOR RELEASE: December 19, 2001
Letters to the Editor
Shreveport Times
222 Lake St.
Shreveport, La. 71101-3735
VIA E-MAIL: Letters@shreveporttimes.com
Dear Letters Editor,
I concede it's highly unlikely former state AFL-CIO President Victor Bussie will ever give up his crusade to repeal Louisiana's Right to Work law, which is now a quarter-century old and extremely popular.
But perhaps someday Mr. Bussie will address just a few of the inconvenient facts he invariably ignores in his diatribes against this law, which merely protects employees' freedom to refuse to pay "fees" to a union they have chosen not to join.
Twenty-one other states have such laws.
Mr. Bussie claims that the effect of Louisiana's Right to Work law has been "to drive down wages, . . . particularly in the construction industry" ("Unions, business finally agree on right-to-work," November 4).
However, data furnished by the U.S. Department of Labor and the Louisiana Department of Labor show that construction wages in Louisiana have sharply increased relative to the national average since the state's Right to Work law was enacted in 1976.
That year, Louisiana construction hourly wages were just 77% of the national average. By 2000, Louisiana construction wages had risen to 96% of the national average.
Since federal data show the state's cost of living is among the lowest in the U.S., Louisiana construction employees' real, spendable pay is now actually well above the national average.
The same trend is evident in manufacturing. U.S. Department of Labor data show that Lousiana manufacturing hourly wages rose from 102% of the national average in 1976 to 108% of the national average last year.
Many economic observers would agree that Louisiana could help increase its citizens' wages even faster relative to the national average by lightening and rationalizing its tax burden, reining in its trial lawyers, and combating chronic political cronyism and corruption.
But repeal of Lousiana's Right to Work law is a snake-oil remedy.
Fortunately, the vast majority of Louisianans have the good sense to ignore the self-interested claims of Big Labor spokesmen like Mr. Bussie and will fight to protect one of the key advantages their state has over most others.
Sincerely,
Mark Mix, Senior Vice President
National Right to Work Committee®
8001 Braddock Road
Springfield, Virginia 22160
703-321-9820
les@nrtw.org