Voters in Virginia and Alabama will face ballot initiatives on whether they should further entrench their “right-to-work” laws by enshrining them in the state constitutions.
Virginia passed its law in 1947. Alabama passed one in 1953. Both laws have been on their state’s respective books ever since.
The efforts to write the laws into the states’ constitutions are meant to head off any potential future challenges to right-to-work should either state someday have a governor or statehouse majority that is opposed to them. Labor law experts don’t actually see that scenario happening any time soon in either state. That hasn’t prevented the right-to-work supporters from going ahead just in case.
“It’s mostly symbolic, since RTW is very popular in (both states). But if the voters ever did elect a legislature hostile to RTW they could not repeal the policy without a vote of the people,” said James Sherk, senior policy analyst with the conservative Heritage Foundation.
Right-to-work laws prohibit employees from being forced to either join the union or pay one a regular fee as a condition of employment. Such requirements — called “security clauses” — are a common feature of most union management contracts. They are intended to compensate the union for its collective bargaining expenses on behalf of the employees. Workers typically only have the union’s say-so regarding what is a legitimate expense though.
A total of 26 states have passed right-to-work laws prohibiting security clauses and allowing workers to decide for themselves whether to back a union. The laws are widely believed to cause labor organizations to lose members and money, resulting in weak unions. Though businesses almost never say it openly, a state’s right-to-work status is widely believed to be a significant factor in decisions on where to locate or expand. Fans of the laws argue they boost state economies by attracting businesses. Critics charge they are merely a tool to undermine labor’s power.
The Alabama state senate voted 25-9 Thursday to approve a ballot initiative asking voters whether their right-to-work law should be written into the state constitution. Critics scorned the effort as a waste of time and money. Senate Minority Leader Quinton Ross, D-Montgomery, called it “asinine.”
“Right-to-work is popular in Alabama and protecting worker freedom has been good for Alabama’s economy, so naturally legislators in the state want to find ways to promote Alabama’s right-to-work status,” said Greg Mourad, vice president of the National Right to Work Committee.
Last month, Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe approved legislation placing a similar referendum on his state’s fall ballot. Ironically, not supporting the state’s right-to-work law was one of the accusations McAuliffe, a Democrat, faced when ran for the office in 2013.
The moves follow a renewed interest in right-to-work laws. Most states adopted the laws in the 1940s and 1950s but in the last four years four additional states — Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin and West Virginia — have adopted them, the most legislative action on the issue in decades.
