Indiana State AFL-CIO - HOOSIERS WON’T FALL FOR “RIGHT TO WORK” FALLACY

Indiana State AFL-CIO - NEWS RELEASE: HOOSIERS WON’T FALL FOR “RIGHT TO WORK” FALLACY:

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For Immediate Release: Monday, Nov. 21, 2011
Media Contact: Jeff Harris, Indiana State AFL-CIO, 317.632.9147
GUYOTT: HOOSIERS WON’T FALL FOR “RIGHT TO WORK” FALLACY
Out of state corporate interests push bill designed to destroy unions, reduce worker wages
INDIANAPOLIS – In reaction to the announcement by Indiana House Speaker Brian Bosma and Senate Pro Tem David Long that they would make passing the called “right to work” bill their top legislative priority in the 2012 legislative session, Indiana State AFL-CIO President Nancy Guyott issued following statement this morning:
“It’s laughable that Republican leaders in the Statehouse actually have the gall to cite “freedom” in their renewed push for the so-called “right to work” law given that its already the law of the land that no one can be forced to join a union. In reality, this legislation isn’t about giving Hoosier workers and employers more freedom, it is about taking away existing freedoms and choices.
If passed, this bill would restrict a private business’ ability to freely enter into an agreement with a union. And, it forces organized labor to represent workers who refuse to pay for services, thus severely depleting their ability to effectively represent dues paying members in fights for better wages, working conditions and needed safety precautions.
Anyone who has followed this debate in Indiana in recent years knows that this isn’t being pushed by Hoosiers, but by out-of-state corporate interests. As they have done in other states, they claim it’s about workers’ freedom, economic development or jobs – but can never produce verifiable information to support their arguments. That’s because the “right to work” bill isn’t about those things, it’s about money and power. Big corporations and their elected friends want to bust up unions, eliminating the last group of people standing in the way of unfettered corporate control. They want to drive down wages and increase profits. They want to eliminate the voice of working people in the political process.
And while this Wall Street re-branding effort is amusing, like our neighbors in Ohio, Hoosiers know that this is just another attack on working families”
The Indiana State AFL-CIO (American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations) is a federation of 800 local unions across the state belonging to 50 International Unions. In total, the Indiana State AFL-CIO represents more than 300,000 working Hoosiers.
For more information on please visit www.in.aflcio.org or call 1-800-433-8423.