This week, Wisconsin became the 25th state to pass “Right to Work” legislation. Ken Margolies, senior associate at the Cornell ILR School’s Worker Institute, says that an eventual majority of states will be ‘right to work’ but even union opponents are concerned that unions are being removed as a counter balance to corporate power.
Margolies says:
“The decline in membership and clout of labor unions in the U.S. has been well documented and analyzed, and the recent action in Wisconsin continues that trend. Since Wisconsin becomes the 25th state to go ‘right to work’ it may be noteworthy because of the symbolism of having half of the states with such laws. With several states considering passing similar laws it seems inevitable that a majority of states will be ‘right to work.’ “Interestingly, even opponents of unions generally are becoming concerned that without unions as a counter balance to corporations, the pendulum has swung too far – and all American wage earners are the worse for it. There is a clear correlation between strong unions and an increasing middle class. So as the labor movement weakens the middle class continues to be squeezed and standards of living fall or stay stalled.”
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