Kenny Perdue On Right To Work
The President of the West Virginia AFL-CIO says companies do not make decisions about where to locate based on whether a state has a right to work law or not.
“They want a good work force. They’re not worried about right to work,” Kenny Perdue said. “They want a good work force. They want a good work force. They want a good work force.”
Last week, Michigan became the 24th state to pass a right to work law. It allows workers there, a traditionally strong state for unions, to decide whether to join and pay dues. Membership is not a requirement of hiring, no one can be forced to join and there can be no union retaliation.
Michigan Governor Rick Snyder has said he thinks the new law will make his state more business friendly.
West Virginia does not have such a law.
But Perdue says, in most cases, union membership is not an employment requirement.
“You don’t have to be a member,” he said. “They (union officials) have to talk to you and come to you and ask you to be a member and show you the benefits of being a member.”
“What if I say ‘no’?” asked Host Hoppy Kercheval on Tuesday’s MetroNews Talkline.
“There’s nothing they can do,” Perdue responded.
“Then, I don’t have to join the union?”
“No,” said Perdue.
According to the National Right To Work Legal Defense Foundation, Virginia, North Carolina and Tennessee are among the states with right to work laws. There are no such laws in Kentucky, Ohio, Maryland and Pennsylvania.
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Comments
wirerowe
My understanding is that new hires that are not union members after a period of time either have to become dues paying union members or pay equivalent dollar amounts to the union even if they don't join the union. Closed shop still means those in the minority in an election that certifies a union have to become members and pay dues. In a right to work state or open shop that is not the case. This is what the debate is about. It is about who has to pay dues.
December 18, 2012 at 7:39 pm | Report comment
tom
we need a right to work law in wv! never will happen but it would be a boost for us that do not want to be involved in corupt unions.
December 19, 2012 at 6:45 am | Report comment
Paul
"...in most cases, union membership is not an employment requirement." My brother worked for the gas company for many years, and union membership WAS required, implicitly or explicitly. West Virginia is a closed-shop state. Period.
December 19, 2012 at 12:52 pm | Report comment