Wisconsin's 'Right To Work' Vote: A Blow To Income Equality Nationwide?
WASHINGTON — [Update: On Friday, Wisconsin's State Assembly approved legislation preventing unions from requiring workers to pay dues.]
With a pending vote by the state legislature, Wisconsin is poised to become the nation’s 25th “right to work” state, in which labor unions can’t impose fees on private-sector workers who don’t want to join.
The move has stirred deep controversy in a state that has a long history of support for organized labor, even as Republican backers of the shift say it’s about making the state’s economy stronger.
Recommended: What is your social class? Take our quiz to find out!
The legislation, which is expected to be approved by the state’s Assembly on Friday, after Senate passage last week, has implications beyond the Badger State.
For one thing, how it’s perceived could affect Gov. Scott Walker’s prospects in the 2016 presidential race, where he currently has risen to the top of the list of Republican hopefuls, alongside former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush. Governor Walker has pledged to sign the measure.
More broadly, the nation’s overall climate for labor unions is in play. Wisconsin would join Michigan and Indiana in a trio of Midwestern states serving as test cases for what happens to local economies under right to work (RTW). The nation is at a potential tipping point, with about half the states on each side of the labor-law issue.
more...
http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/2015/0306/Wisconsin-s-right-to-work-vote-A-blow-to-income-equality-nationwide