Anti-worker “Right to Work” Push Fueled by Corporate Special Interests, Ignores Real Needs of Working Families
St. Paul--Responding to the release of the Center for the American Experiment's report, SEIU Local 284 member Terri Buttleman, a special education paraprofessional who works day in and day out to make sure students with disabilities receive the best education and support possible, offered the following statement:
“I’m tired of the distractions from groups like Center for the American Experiment and the politicians they back,” said Buttleman. “Instead of working to find solutions for our broken economy, they propose anti-worker legislation that will lead to fewer jobs with lower wages.”
Contrary to the junk science used by the Center for the American Experiment and others, the record of anti-worker Right to Work laws paints a very different picture:
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Jobs are lost. Not only do these laws fail to create jobs, but they actually cause local economies to lose them. According to the Economic Policy Institute, every $1 million in wage cuts, results in six jobs lost in the local economy.
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Wages for all workers are driven down. Both union and non-union workers in states with these laws make an average of $5,538 less per year than those living in states without the law.
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Workplace safety suffers. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the rate of workplace deaths is 50 percent higher in anti-middle class right to work states.
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Less investment in schools. These laws mean lower school funding, more layoffs and larger class sizes. For example, during the 2008 – 2009 school year, anti-middle class right to work states spent only $9,005 per student, compared to $10,966 in Minnesota.
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For more information, please contact SEIU MN State Council Executive Director Brian Elliott at belliott@seiu.mn or 612-703-4987.