Right to Work

I watched most of Friday's joint hearing of the House and Senate on the Right to Work bill. The contempt that most Republicans showed toward the middle class -- especially middle class, blue collar workers -- was obvious, as well as their dismissive attitude toward the very real possibility that more than a century of labor struggle to achieve basic rights in the workplace may be gone so that corporate interests can again trump what is right, ethical, and morally just.

Today was interesting, and here are some of the things that have stayed with me.

* A retiree from a Fort Wayne plant told of the plant's refusal, every few years or so, to pay out pensions. The company relents after the union takes it to court. If Right to Work passes, it becomes a very real possibility that the union will no longer be able to hire attorneys to help get retirees their money.

* Several expressed fears that if unions have a diminished presence in the workplace, safety becomes a real concern. Nonunion workers could very well choose to ignore union-sponsored safety rules, which puts everybody at risk. Not to mention the relaxing of regulations that also would also put everyone at risk.

* A man told of trying to raise his family as a single breadwinner, while his wife stays home with the kids. If his pay gets cut -- as it most certainly will under Right to Work -- they won't be able to afford to do that anymore.

* Despite what Mitch Daniels and his band of merry men say, there is **no** empirical evidence that supports the fact that Right to Work will bring jobs to this state. Using examples from other areas of the United States is no predictor. What works for job creation in Oklahoma (a Right to Work state that won that distinction by referendum that can, in no way, be called an overwhelming margin) will most likely not work in Indiana -- there are too many economic and regional differences to make such a sweeping claim that the lack of a Right to Work provision is holding this state back in job creation.

(The companies that Daniels and the GOP say are lining up at the state line to come in once Right to Work passes are unnamed entities, which further makes the claim suspect.)

The common question asked repeatedly throughout the day was, what are the unions so afraid of? If they are as strong and as popular among workers as they say they are, unions will survive Right to Work. Just how stupid do they think the rank-and-file are? How can weakened unions ever hope to fight the corporate cash and influence that will pour into Indiana once this passes?

Unions can turn the GOP question thusly: If the GOP is so convinced that this is the right thing for this state; that it will benefit all workers and lead to more jobs, higher wages, and whatever more wonderful things they can think of, then why are they virtually ramming this piece of legislation down our throats? Why fast-track what perhaps may be the most important and far-reaching legislation that this state will see in our lifetimes? Why can't the GOP take its case to the people -- to where the people live and work, in such towns as Kokomo, Muncie, Goshen, Michigan City -- instead of hiding in the Statehouse and passing it by legislative fiat?

Why not put the Right to Work issue up as a public question and let the voters decide?

Could it be because the GOP knows what the answer will be?