New Mexico is struggling. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates a poverty rate of almost 20 percent for the state. New Mexico’s unemployment rate is also high at 5.4 percent, compared to the national average of 3.9 percent. Further, the American Legislative Exchange Council’s 2018 report, “Rich States Poor States,” ranks New Mexico 35th in economic outlook and 45th in economic performance.
Some county commissioners have responded to this by focusing on economic development opportunities, such as right-to-work for the private sector.
On May 21, 2018, Chaves County Commissioners in New Mexico voted 5-0 to pass a right-to-work ordinance, barring employers from making the payment of dues or fees to a labor union a condition of employment.
Chaves County is actually the fourth New Mexico County to become right to work. On Jan. 19, Sandoval County became right-to-work, and Otero County did so on April 12. Lincoln became the third county to reject forced unionization on May 15.
Right-to-work laws will help these counties in several ways.
First, they lead to economic growth. Like New Mexico, Kentucky used to face challenging economic times. But in 2014, some counties in Kentucky passed local right-to-work laws. By 2017, when Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin signed right-to-work into law for the entire state, thirteen counties had passed right-to-work ordinances, resulting in economic growth. One of those counties, Simpson County, reported a gain of $250 million in new investment between the passage of right-to-work and 2016. Further, Kentucky saw $7 billion in new investment in the first nine months after the state ended forced unionization.
Second, workers are able to find more jobs in right-to-work states. In 2015, Bowling Green, a city in Warren County, Kentucky, added 1,000 new jobs after right-to-work passed. The Heritage Foundation also calculated (using U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data) in 2014 that right-to-work states had twice the job growth rate of non-right-to-work states between 1990 and 2014. In addition, right-to-work states added almost $2 million jobs from 2001-2011, while non-right-to-work states lost $2 million jobs.
Third, it’s the right thing. Workers should not be forced to join a union to keep their jobs. The U.S. Constitution gives Americans the freedoms of speech and association. The First Amendment rights of these workers are violated when they are forced to pay dues to a union they don’t want to join because unions spend an astounding amount of money on politics. According to the Center for Union Facts’ latest report on union political spending, unions spent over $1.3 billion on primarily liberal causes from 2010-2017. In a CNN 2016 exit poll, however, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton only won the union household vote by 3 percent. Many workers are, therefore, forced to support politicians they don’t agree with.
Finally, right-to-work laws actually make unions more accountable to the workers they purport to represent. When forced dues are forbidden, unions are forced to provide benefits that will make workers join or stay. In non-right-to-work states, unions know that no matter what kind of representation they provide, the workers will still have to pay union dues just to keep their jobs.
Because the data clearly show that right-to-work is helping Kentucky, New Mexico county commissioners should continue to follow Kentucky’s example and pass right-to-work ordinances in order to help both employers and employees.
Olivia Grady is senior fellow of the Center for Worker Freedom at Americans for Tax Reform.
