Some states can’t celebrate National Employee Freedom Week-Kersey
"Kersey served on the staff of the U.S. House of Representatives Government Reform and Oversight Committee. He then spent three years at the National Right to Work Committee as director of state legislation. In that role, he analyzed and responded to labor legislation in all 50 states." http://www.mackinac.org/bio.aspx?ID=292
"This week marks National Employee Freedom Week, a national campaign that celebrates individual freedoms regarding union membership. Sadly, many states, including my home state of Illinois, don’t have much to celebrate as far as employee freedom goes—we have long barred our citizens from exercising the right not to be in a union.
We should not do so any longer. If the 26 non-right-to-work states like Illinois are serious about expanding employee freedom—as well as economic opportunities and jobs—we should enact a right-to-work law. Right-to-work creates opportunities and spurs economic growth. According to data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis, between 2002 to 2011, the economy of the average right-to-work state grew 18.1 percent, compared to just 10.6 percent in states without right-to-work laws.
With that growth comes much-needed jobs. Data published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that employment in right-to-work states increased by 4.5 percent during the same period, while the number of jobs dropped 1.2 percent in other states. This has been particularly hard in Illinois, where unemployment stands at a staggering 9.3 percent.
Jobs aren’t the only thing growing in right-to-work states. Disposable incomes grew faster in over the same period. In fact, if you account for cost of living using an index provided by the Council for Community and Economic Research, disposable incomes in 2011 were more than $2,500 higher in states with right-to-work laws than in states with forced unionization."
http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/labor/307669-some-states-cant-celebrate-national-employee-freedom-week
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'Right to Work' for Less
States with "Right to Work" Laws Have:
Lower Wages and Incomes
The average worker in states with "right to work" laws makes $1,540 a year less when all other factors are removed than workers in other states.1
Median household income in states with these laws is $6,437 less than in other states ($46,402 vs. $52,839).2
In states with "right to work" laws, 26.7 percent of jobs are in low-wage occupations, compared with 19.5 percent of jobs in other states.3
Less Job-Based Health Insurance Coverage
People in states with "right to work" laws are more likely to be uninsured (16.8 percent, compared with 13.1 percent overall; among children, it’s 10.8 percent vs. 7.5 percent).4
They’re less likely to have job-based health insurance than people in other states (56.2 percent, compared with 60.1 percent).5
Only 50.7 percent of employers in states with these laws offer insurance coverage to their employees, compared with 55.2 percent in other states. That difference is even more significant among small employers (with fewer than 50 workers)—only 34.4 percent of them offer workers health insurance, compared with 41.7 percent of small employers in other states.6
Higher Poverty and Infant Mortality Rates
Poverty rates are higher in states with "right to work" laws (15.3 percent overall and 21.5 percent for children), compared with poverty rates of 13.1 percent overall and 18.1 percent for children in states without these laws.7
The infant mortality rate is 15 percent higher in states with these laws.8"
http://www.aflcio.org/Legislation-and-Politics/State-Legislative-Battles/Ongoing-State-Legislative-Attacks/Right-to-Work-for-Less