If the State of Indiana decides not to transition to a right-to-work state, then the Regional Chamber of Northeast Indiana is hoping to make this region a test case for the program.
Right-to-work forbids employers from firing employees for not paying union dues or fees, said Matt Bell executive director of the Regional Chamber of Northeast Indiana. Currently, if someone goes to work for a company with a union, that new employee has to decide to either join the union, or pay dues to that union.
“We simply believe that as a matter of freedom of association, any employee, any worker, should have the opportunity to choose whether or not they will associate and to choose whether or not they want to pay dues for something they will or will not receive,”he said. “We believe that this is an initiative that promotes the freedom of workers.”
Around 25 to 50 percent of economic development projects refuse to work in a state without right-to-work status, Bell said.
“For a lot of companies, that simply doesn’t represent the environment in which they want to do business,” he said.
Other problems include cost effectiveness and a desire to maximize workforce flexibility.
The Indiana General Assembly Interim Study Committee on Employment Issues was created to look into issues including right-to-work legislation, Bell said. This committee will make a recommendation at the end of October, if it recommends right-to-work then a bill will be written and introduced to the General Assembly in January.
The Regional Chamber of Northeast Indiana has a plan if no legislation is voted upon.
“We’ve taken a position that says hey, if, for any number of reasons, the state is not ready or willing to adopt that program, then allow us to pilot it,” Bell said. “Should the state not be ready … we’re ready to demonstrate that this is more than a theoretical argument, that this is the right policy for Indiana and we’ll show everyone that it is.”
John Sampson, president and CEO of the Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership, would like to see legislation pass.
“Our region has been declining in per-capita income for many years,” he said. “So, it is of great concern for our region that we are not growing as quickly as we need to.”
Companies have told the regional partnership, which looks for leads for economic developers for the region, one reason they decide not to come to the area is because of the lack of right-to-work, Sampson said.
“The unfortunate part about it is that Indiana, based on the quality of our works force … we are a very competitive state,” he said. “My interest in right-to-work is that we get to compete with every single project that we can.”
However, the idea is not well received by all.
“I think it is a bad piece of legislation,” said Dave Altman, president and representative of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union Council.
While the program was tagged with an appealing name, it doesn’t actually give anyone the right-to-work.
“Right-to-work only serves one purpose, and that’s to weaken labor unions,” he said.
The program creates “free riders,” people who don’t pay union dues but still receive the benefits, he said. They don’t pay for a service they are receiving.
Right-to-work won’t affect new companies, because new companies don’t start off with a labor union, he said. So, any right-to-work legislation would only affect existing companies within the state.
“If people really knew the truth, they wouldn’t be happy about it,” he said.