Right-to-work states see big population gains

By Jarrett Skorup | Michigan Capitol Confidential

If you listen to opponents of right-to-work laws, the claims are dire. But if laws allowing workers the choice of whether to pay money to a union lead to such alleged problems, why are so many people moving from forced unionism states to right-to-work states?

My colleague Michael Van Beek takes a look at a new study by Richard Vedder, an Ohio University professor and member of the Mackinac Center Board of Scholars, and researcher Jonathon Robe. Long story short, they show significant gains in income and jobs for right-to-work states.

But they also include the following statistic: “[T]he proportion of the American population living in a right-to-work environment has steadily grown, jumping from about 29 percent in 1970 to 46 percent by 2013.”

at Michigan Capitol Confidential.