When Unions Don't Have a Fair Share, Good Jobs Turn Bad

Corporate interest groups enacted a law in Virginia that deprives unions of the legal right to fair compensation for the services they provide. They dishonestly refer to this law a right-to-work, but it's really an anti-worker, anti-union law. It leaves employees worse off, with lower pay and less workplace safety.

What makes America different is that it’s about more than just low-wage work; our country is about the opportunity to get ahead and prosper. The corporate-backed groups and low-road contractors pushing so-called right-to-work are out to cut workers’ pay and benefits and weaken unions.

Numerous studies show that so-called right-to-work is bad for workers and communities.

Workers in so-called right-to-work states earn almost a third less than those without such laws. Fewer families have access to employer paid health insurance and a pension plan in so- called right-to-work states. Businesses and local economies suffer. When workers can’t afford to pay bills, they can’t spend money at stores, restaurants, or gas pumps—or even afford to buy a home.

So-called right-to-work is a deception that destroys careers for the workers who build America.

It is by having the freedom to join together in a union that workers earn family-supporting pay and stay safe on the job. It is through union training and apprenticeship programs that workers of all backgrounds are able to build careers in construction. It is through unions that wage disparities are reduced or eliminated.