The Jefferson City Scoop: Right To Work A Good Idea

Introducing The Jefferson City Scoop, a series of blog posts written by someone who is busily at work in our state's capital. The blogger wishes to remain anonymous, but we are appreciative of their contributions. Their first article appears below:

As of 2011, our great state of Missouri is ranked 48th out of 50 states in overall economic growth when compared to the rest of the nation. 48th out of 50 is a poor standing in just about anything but it is especially poor when analyzing economic growth. The question that we must ask our State government is “how can Missouri overcome its’ shortfall in economic growth?”

There have been a few solutions proposed in our Missouri Government to help increase economic growth but out of all of the solutions, the most feasible idea is to make Missouri a Right-to-Work state. A Right-to-Work state is a state that prohibits labor unions from forcing a contractual on employers of that particular state. Right now in Missouri, unions force employees into membership even if they do not want to join a union. Making Missouri a Right-to-Work state would allow employees to work wherever they wanted and not be forced to sign a union contract.

How does making Missouri a Right-to-Work State cause economic growth? The intriguing numbers say it all. There are some remarkable facts about what has happened to manufacturing in the right-to-work states since World War II. In non-Right-to-Work states, manufacturing employment has stayed the same since 1947 while manufacturing employment has increased 150 percent in the Right-to-Work states. Of the 10 states with the highest manufacturing employment growth rates, 8 are Right-to-Work states. Of the 10 states with the lowest growth rates, none are right-to-work states. There are currently twenty-three Right-to-Work states and Missouri needs to be that 24th Right-to-Work State.

Unions can be very beneficial for Missouri workers but if forced union agreements are causing our state to be ranked 48th out of 50 in economic growth, the government has to step in and make a change for the citizens of Missouri. Sadly, many of our State legislators are not willing to make this change due to the fact that some of their largest campaign donors are union organizations. The Speaker of the House is a prime example of this.

As voters of the State of Missouri, it is our obligation to vote for what we believe is best for the people of this great state. I encourage everyone to invest their time, and research the policies that are affecting our state. We all have the ability to make a difference, and Right-to-Work is a great fundamental step to making Missouri one of the best states in our nation.