Let the anti-“right to work” disinformation campaign begin!

I had a relatively relaxing Holiday season and made sure to enjoy it because I know it is going to be an exciting and intense legislative session. The issue of “right to work” and whether New Mexico should become such a state continues to receive attention, specifically in the Albuquerque Journal where two articles appeared.

The first was an opinion piece by an English professor at CNM. The author repeats the myth that “unions must represent all unit members whether or not they pay dues.” This is demonstrably false. Unions are under no obligation to represent anyone, but it is a useful myth to repeat.

The author also makes the spurious claim that “right to work” laws increase inequality. There is simply no evidence for this statement (and the author rightly fudges the statement without citing any data to back her argument up). Here is a list of states by gini coefficient which measures inequality. There is simply no discernable pattern when it comes to “right to work” and inequality as many of the least unequal (most equal) states have “right to work” and vice-versa.

And then there is Thom Cole’s article from the front page of today’s Albuquerque Journal. Cole seized on my statement that “right to work” would impact unions’ bottom lines. This is an obvious truism as unions and their allies directly benefit from the forced-deduction of union dues which, in many cases are then donated to Democratic Party candidates.

The balance of the article is a platform for Jon Hendry of the AFL-CIO to share all the great things unions supposedly have done for New Mexico workers. Omitted is how union-supported left-wing economic policies are killing New Mexico’s economy and forcing more of our citizens to look for work in “right to work” states like Texas.