Republicans Plan Assault on Unions
Get ready for more posters like this one, which portrays Wisconsin’s public sector employees as “union thugs,” once the newly elected, emboldened Republicans take up their positions in the nation’s state houses.
“The accumulated gains by Republicans in state legislatures will certainly increase pressure on and within the GOP caucuses to expand right-to-work laws,” Louis Jacobson, state politics columnist for Governing magazine, told FoxNews.com.
Republicans in statehouses across the country are plotting a tough new campaign to check the power of labor unions and chip away at their political influence.
GOP lawmakers, buoyed by sweeping midterm victories at the state level, are weighing so-called “right-to-work” bills in several capitals, once new legislative sessions start in January. The measures, already in place in two dozen states, generally prohibit unions from forcing workers in the private sector to join and pay dues.
“The accumulated gains by Republicans in state legislatures will certainly increase pressure on, and within, the GOP caucuses to expand right-to-work laws,” Louis Jacobson, state politics columnist for Governing magazine, told FoxNews.com.
Wisconsin and Ohio are considered among the mostly likely to back the legislation, as Republicans control both chambers of those legislatures and the governorships—though those governors seem lukewarm to the idea. Colorado, Missouri, New Hampshire, and New Mexico also could see battles over union power next year.
Once again, Wisconsin is expected to be at the forefront of the union drama.
Republican state Rep. Chris Kapenga plans to propose a right-to-work bill for private-sector workers. And state Sen. Scott Fitzgerald, the Senate majority leader, claims his chamber will act quickly to pass such legislation. Gov. Scott Walker, though, has repeatedly suggested he doesn’t want the legislature to tackle the issue right now.
“As he has said previously, Gov. Walker’s focus is on growing Wisconsin’s economy and creating jobs,” spokeswoman Laurel Patrick recently said. “Anything that distracts from that is not a priority for him.”
Twenty-four states already have right-to-work laws, including Michigan and Indiana.
Supporters say the laws give workers more freedom, since they aren’t required to join unions or have dues deducted, and argue such laws help attract businesses.
Opponents—including Democrats and the labor unions that often support Democratic candidates—argue the laws are bad for workers, hurt the economy, and are designed to weaken union power and political clout.
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