Day 10: Adopt a Right to Work Law
If labor unions were like any other private club or organization, an individual could choose whether or not to pay dues and become a member. Unfortunately, unions have been granted government protections over the years that have allowed them to dominate certain industries.
Simply put, "Right to Work" laws prohibit employers and unions from requiring membership in a union or payment of union dues as a condition of employment.
According to economist Dr. Richard Vedder, both population and income growth have been significantly faster in the 22 states with right-to-work laws than in those states that allow forced unionism. Texas, Oklahoma, Arizona and Utah all have right to work laws in place. Indiana became the latest state in the nation to adopt such a law. A recent Rio Grande Foundation paper found that New Mexico would have New Mexico’s employment in 2011 would have been approximately 21 percent higher had a Right to Work law been enacted in 1980.1
If New Mexico’s political establishment wants to stand up to special interests and create jobs, there are few policy prescriptions with better track records of success than passage of a "Right to Work" law.
1Eric Fruits, Ph.D., "Right to Work and Economic Growth: A Comprehensive Analysis of the Economic Benefits to New Mexico of Enacting a Right-to Work Law," July 2012, Rio Grande Foundation, http://www.riograndefoundation.org/downloads/rgf_right_to_work.pdf