The items below were compiled by France Laurendeau from items submitted to the UALE list serve in response to a request for materials about Right to Work laws (but see Note below).
Materials were grouped by France according to content categories. They include reports, fact sheets, PowerPoint presentations, and more.
These materials were solicited primarily for the purpose of explaining the dangers of "Right to Work" laws in Canada and especially in Quebec.
Note: At the end of the list we have added some additional materials that members of the UALE email list have contributed subsequently. See Other Materials below.
Right to Work in general
"What's Wrong with 'Right to Work'?" a power point presentation for UALE webinar by Gordon Lafer. The total presentation of 21 slides has been divided into 2 parts because of its size. Part 1 is the first 10 slides; part 2 is the rest.
Whos Behind the Attacks on Workers? Power point slides. Author unknown.
RTW legislative background and empirical research Congressional Research Service report by Benjamin Collins, December 2012
The links below take you to two articles explaining why RTW is bad. The first is written in a clear, easy -to-read style; the second is a scholarly piece.
What's Wrong with Right to Work? by Salvatore Babones, senior lecturer in sociology and social policy at the University of Sydney in Australia and an associate fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies (IPS) in Washington, DC.
The Historical Misconception Of Right To Work Laws In The United States by Raymond L. Hogler, Professor of Management, Colorado State University, in Hofstra Labor and Employment Law Journal Fall 2005.
Here are two articles from the mainstream press
NY Times: Continuing Assault on Unions NY Times editorial, January 7, 2012
Wall Street Journal: Right-to-Work Economics Wall Street Journal article from December 14, 2012 argues that "states that bar mandatory union dues tend toward more jobs but lower wages"
For those who want to explore further:
EPI on RTW A listing (with links) of research on RTW published by the Economic Policy Institute
RTW Bibliography A bibliography of Right to Work resources from Google. (Because it is a pdf document, the links do not work.)
AFL-CIO
Fact sheets produced by the AFL-CIO
AFL-CIO Right to Work for Less
The Truth about Right to Work for Less 4 short fact sheets
Right to Work for Less laws: Q and A
Canada
A pro-RTW report from Simon Fraser University (in English) with an acompanying short article in French
An anti-RTW from the Ontario Federation of Labor, with accompanying fact sheets
Indiana
Indiana RTW Report Summary of report from Notre Dame University Labor Studies. The full report is the next link.
Right to Work vs. Rights of Workers Full report from Notre Dame University Higgins Labor Studies Program.
Indiana experience offers little hope...for Michigan 'right to work' law. EPI Policy memorandum by Gordon Lafer, Marty Wolfson, and Nancy Guyott, December 2012
RTW law leads to lower wages December 2011 article from South Bend Tribune, by Barbara Fick & Marty Wolfson
Michigan
Pure MichiganMI AFSCME Power Point presentation
RTW in Michigan Power Point presentation saved as pdf document. By Fred Kotler, Cornell ILR
RTW The wrong answer for Michigans economy EPI Briefing paper by Gordon Lafer, Sept. 2011
What RTW would mean for Michigan Article by Roland Zullo, Institute for Labor and Industrial Relations University of Michigan
Right to Work and Michigan Labour Also by Roland Zullo, this article was written for the Global Labour Column, Feb. 2013.
RTW: A View from Michigan by Michelle Kaminski, MI State University Labor Education Program, 2013
Michigan Unions Look to Lock in Contracts BLA Union Labor Report, December 21, 2012
This next group of documents all deal with the question of who is behind the push to enact RTW legislation.
Michigan Freedom Fund Exposed from Michigan Truth Squad, a project of the Center for Michigan
Michigan RTW Contains Verbatim Language from ALEC from Center for Media and Democracy's PR Watch. By Brendan Fischer. Dec. 11, 2012
MI Pro-RTW Organizations chart Chart shows missions, major arguments and publications of organizations backing RTW in MI. Author unknown
Drinking the Kochs Kool-Aid Detroit Free Press editorial, 12/11/2012
How Michigan’s Right-To-Work Law Came to Be By Teresa Rilet, on Moyers and Company (http://billmoyers.com), Dec 11,2012
Minnesota
Right to Work Wrong for MN Power point seminar prepared by AFSCME
Facilitators notes To go with AFSCME seminar
Ohio
Right to Work is Wrong Power point by AFSCME
RTW- A Bad Deal for Ohioans A 15 minute workshop from OH AFL-CIO (?)
One on One conversations Guidelines for One-on-One workplace conversations on RTW. Ohio AFL-CIO (?)
Memo re RTW legislation Memo from OH AFL-CIO President Tim Burga re introduciton of RTW legislation iin Ohio.
Other states
Idaho Kitchen Table Economics Power Point presentation saved as pdf, about inequality. Does not address RTW per se. by Robert McCarl, Idaho Jobs Coalition
Oklahoma, Does RTW create jobs? EPI Briefing paper by Gordon Lafer and Sylvia Allegretto, March 2011
Scott Walker’s Jobs Fraud (Wisconsin) Article by Mike Konopacki, Sept 2013 from Konopacki/Huck web page: http://huckkonopackicartoons.com/scott-walkers-job-fraud/
US Labor Law Background
Canadians and others seeking to understand the current attempts in the US to enact "Right to Work" laws may find it useful to set this in the context of current US labor laws. Here, then, is some relevant background material. (See also "Right to Work Laws: Legislative Background and Empirical Research" in the "Right to Work in general" section above)
Federal Labor Relations Statutes Congressional Research Sevice report, by Alexandra Hegji, November 26, 2012
Other Materials
In February, 2015, members of the UALE email list sent in a number of responses to a query about th origin of the term "Right to Work". These materials and links are being uploaded below.
Frances Benson: "Here’s a book from ILR Press you’ll want to know about—Origins of Right to Work: Antilabor Democracy in Nineteenth-Century Chicago by Cedric de Leon—due to be published this spring."
http://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/?GCOI=80140100649710
Ellen Dannin: Some of that history is in this series about the NLRA. http://truth-out.org/news/item/16794-extra-extra-rich-corp-execs-shut-down-the-nlrb-then-and-nowMeanwhle, this is a very good rebuttal of Taft-Hartley on union membership. http://www.mnaflcio.org/news/right-work-laws-get-facts
Ellen Dannin: "A few years ago, I was invited to come to South Carolina to explain the Boeing case and the National Labor Relations Act... Here is the essay I wrote then" Execution First...Trial Later
John David: "A useful pamphlet is 'Right to Work Laws: A Trap for America’s Minorities', published by the A. Philip Randolph Institute, based on a speech delivered by Bayard Rustin on 2/18/1967 to the annual meeting of the California Negro Leadership Conference in San Francisco."
Mike Konopacki and John Kretzschmar both suggested the following article: http://www.southernstudies.org/2012/12/the-racist-roots-of-right-to-work-laws.html
Ruth Needleman: Op Ed on the origins of Right to Work: Needleman- Judge Gary and Right to Work
David Slavin sent this link to an article by Elizabeth Tandy Shermer, assistant professor of history at Loyola University: "This Is What Right-to-Work Means"
Rand Wilson: Here is an article by Rand Wilson in the March 17, 2015 Labor Notes "Viewpoint: A Smart Strategy to Defeat ‘Right to Work’"
Read full article