By Julie Lucarelli

Debunking Union lies about Right-to-Work Laws

There is a lie being spread across America by unions that right-to-work laws reduce wages. “Unions chant right-to-work for less!” to intimidate lawmakers from supporting right-to-work (RTW) laws, which give people the choice to opt out of union membership and dues. These laws have been passed in 25 of our 50 states.

Non-RTW states have a significantly higher percentage of union members. This means less money for union bosses. No wonder they hate RTW laws.

The Economic Policy Institute (EPI), a union-backed think tank, recently released a report “proving” that RTW laws hurt wages. Unfortunately, there is a hole in their argument. This report does not fully account for the different costs of living between states. As a result, EPI claims to show that workers in RTW states earn slightly less. But when you fully account for those differences in cost, that hole closes.

The Heritage Foundation used the model provided by the EPI and supported by unions to debunk their myth. When the different costs of living are applied before using the model, the wage gap vanishes.

The EPI model also failed to include tips, overtime, and commission in their data. When the Heritage Foundation included such variables, private sector employees in RTW states actually made slightly more than their counterparts.

The real difference is not a wage gap. It’s a freedom gap.