Indiana Sends Right-to-Work Bill to Gov. Daniels
Feb. 1 (Bloomberg) -- Tommy Giesler of Valparaiso, Indiana, talks with Bloomberg's Mark Niquette during a demonstration outside the capitol building in Indianapolis against the state's right-to-work legislation. Indiana became the nation’s 23rd right-to-work state after its Senate exempted nonunion employees from paying dues when working alongside their unionized colleagues. The vote was 28-22, sending the measure to Republican Governor Mitch Daniels, who signed it today. (Source: Bloomberg)
Indiana (STOIN1) will become the nation’s 23rd right-to-work state after its Senate exempted nonunion employees from paying dues when working alongside their unionized colleagues.
The vote was 28-22, sending the measure to Republican Governor Mitch Daniels for his promised signature. The Republican-controlled House of Representatives passed the bill Jan. 26, ending three weeks of Democratic boycotts that prevented the chamber from operating.
Republican Senator Carlin Yoder, the bill’s sponsor, said unions “will still be allowed to exist.” During floor debate, Yoder said right to work gives “freedom to those who don’t want to be part of something they don’t believe in.”
Twenty-two states, mostly in the Deep South and the Rocky Mountain West, have enacted right-to-work laws. Republican gains in the 2010 elections prompted legislation in states including Wisconsin and Ohio aimed at restricting bargaining rights for government workers’ unions.
The measured approved today in Indianapolis targets labor contracts with businesses. Union members composed 10.9 percent of the state’s workforce in 2010, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s down from 15.4 percent in 2000.
Expecting Less
Republican lawmakers say the measure is a cost-cutting, job-creating tool, while Democrats call it union-busting that will lower wages.
“There is no empirical evidence, if you take the time to read the studies, that right to work creates one job,” Democratic Senator Vi Simpson said in debate before the vote. “We can expect lower wages for our people.”
Senators debated the bill for almost two hours as union members chanted outside and inside the statehouse, “Kill the bill.”
After the vote, the opponents began a protest march from the capitol to Lucas Oil Stadium, where the Super Bowl will be played Feb. 5. Frank Straub, director of the Indianapolis Department of Public Safety, estimated the crowd at between 3,000 and 4,000.
The bill will be sent to Daniels’ desk today and, once signed, will take effect March 14.
To contact the reporter on this story: Timothy Jones in Chicago at tjones58@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Mark Tannenbaum at mtannen@bloomberg.net
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