St Louis Building and Construction Trades Council Union Labor Organizations Builders

"I can hire one-half the working class to kill the other half."
Jay Gould (1836-1892), financier, railroad businessman, on not worrying about an impending strike at Southwestern rail system, 1886

What is Right to Work? (RTW) Shouldn’t everyone have a right to a job?
Right to work does not actually guarantee any rights or jobs. Right to work laws compel unions to represent all employees regardless of whether they pay dues or not. It allows some workers to pay nothing and get all the benefits of union membership. If something sounds too good to be true it usually is.

"In our glorious fight for civil rights, we must guard against being fooled by false slogans, as 'right to work.' It provides no 'rights' and no 'works.' Its purpose is to destroy labor unions and the freedom of collective bargaining. We demand this fraud be stopped."
Martin Luther King Jr.

If Right to Work does not guarantee a job or rights, what does it do?
Right to work laws actually weaken unions. When unions are forced to spend resources on free riders who do not have to contribute anything for those services, dues paying members are not able to get the level of benefits that they pay for. And that is the goal. One group of people decides not to pay dues because they can get representation for free and then the other group decides not to pay dues because they do not get the benefits that they pay for and deserve. And a union without resources cannot be effective and a local union that is not effective ceases to exist.

"Right-to-Work laws are a virtual conspiracy of the crafty, the ignorant, or the misguided to subvert industrial peace, exploit men's need to work and deluge the community with industrial irresponsibility. 'Right-to-Work' laws do not create jobs; they only victimize the worker and make his organization ineffective."
Reverend Dr. Walter George Muelder, educator, economist, ethicist, dean of Boston University School of Theology

With all the government regulations haven’t unions really outlived their usefulness?
Here are facts gathered from the Bureau of Labor statistics, the US Census Bureau and the Children’s Defense Fund. You decide.

Workers in RTW states make $5333.00 less than the average worker in other states
Twenty one percent more of the people in RTW states lack health insurance than in other states
Workers in RTW states are less likely to have dental insurance, vision insurance, life insurance, short term disability insurance and paid personal leave
Infant mortality rates are 16% higher in RTW states than other states
RTW states have a higher poverty rate compared to other states
Workers who are injured on the jobsite receive $30/wk less in RTW states than injured workers in other states
Workplace deaths are 51% higher in RTW states because workers do not have a voice
Women represented by a union make $149/wk more than their nonunion counterparts
African Americans represented by a union make $140/wk more than their nonunion counterparts
Latino’s represented by a union make $180/wk more than their nonunion counterparts
When employees in an industry are union, nonunion employers routinely offer their nonunion employees more pay to prevent them from organizing
One hundred percent of the RTW states are below the average in teachers pay
Nonunion employees are 33% less likely to have any type of retirement plan
Nonunion employees are 54% less likely to have a defined benefit retirement plan

"You will find people saying that they are for the so-called right to work law, but they also believe in unions. This is absurd. It's like saying you are for motherhood but against children."
President Truman , 1947

Next time you are in the market for a product or service ask the seller (owner) if they will provide you the same product or service if you do not pay for it. Ask them if they could stay in business if they were forced to provide their services for nothing if the customer requested it.

Remember there is no such thing as a free lunch.