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By a vote of 55-44 the Indiana state House yesterday approved a so-called “right-to-work” bill, just two days after it was approved by the state Senate. Governor Mitch Daniels is expected to sign it into law, making Indiana the 23rd state in the nation to adopt the union-busting legislation, and the first since 2001. Indiana state House Democrats have boycotted the 2012 legislative session on-and-off since it began earlier this month in an effort to prevent a vote by their chamber where Republicans hold a 20 seat majority. Democratic attempts to compromise by allowing the bill to be put to Indiana voters through a referendum later this year were rejected. The deceptively named “right-to-work” legislation would weaken labor unions by cutting off their funding. Under right-to-work, unionized workers can opt-out of union membership and dues, while continuing to benefit from wage increases and labor protections.

For decades, right-to-work proponents have argued publicly that the laws increase wages and job opportunities by attracting employers who want to avoid burdensome labor unions. Researchers for the Economic Policy Institute have found that the reality is quite different. EPI studies concluded that union and non-union workers lose $1,500 a year in wages in right-to-work states. In an EPI briefing paper examining the economic arguments for and against right-to-work in Indiana, Gordon Lafer found Indiana’s economy was healthier when compared to many right-to-work states including North Carolina, Mississippi and South Carolina, which lost more manufacturing jobs since 1994 than Indiana. Lafer also found that the campaign to gut Indiana’s labor unions is backed by powerful, corporate-funded organizations including the Chamber of Commerce and the American Legislative Exchange Council, or ALEC. Indiana workers tried to counter that powerful lobby this month by rallying in large numbers at the Indianapolis statehouse to educate lawmakers, and to show their opposition at meetings. Their efforts received a key endorsement from the National Football League Players Association last week, which came out against the legislation and which holds more influence than ever as the Super Bowl will be held in Indianapolis on February 5th.

GUESTS: Jane Slaughter, Staff writer at Labor Notes; Gordon Lafer, political economist and Associate Professor at the University of Oregon’s Labor Education and Research Center

Read Gordon Lafer’s brief on the likely impact of right-to-work legislation on the economy of Indiana: http://www.epi.org/publication/working-hard-indiana-bad-tortured-uphill/

Read Jane Slaughter’s work at www.LaborNotes.org.