Indiana Likely to Become 23rd Right to Work State

Employment Law

Less than a year after the issuance of a complaint by NLRB General Counsel Lafe Solomon against Boeing for establishing operations in South Carolina, several states, led by Indiana, are considering whether they should also become right-to-work states in order to make themselves a more attractive place to do business.  This week, after lengthy stalling by Democrat legislators, the Indiana House approved a bill (H.B. 1001) that would make Indiana the 23rd state—and the first in 12 years—to prohibit mandatory union dues or fees from employees represented by a union.  The Senate, which passed a similar bill earlier, is expected to approve the House measure, sending it to Republican Governor Mitch Daniels for his promised signature.  Rep. Ed Soliday (R-IN), one of the few Republicans to vote against the bill said that the government should not interfere with a business owner's right to sign a contract with a union under any terms he or she deems reasonable. “I'm nervous when we head down this path that those fundamental rights of property, of capital, will be abridged,” he said.  Indiana could start a trend this year, with at least nine states having right-to-work legislation pending, including Michigan.  Meanwhile, legislation has been introduced in the South Carolina legislature to strengthen its own law by requiring employers to display a poster informing workers of the state's right-to-work protections and requiring unions to provide the state with organizational and financial information, increasing the amount of penalties that can be levied on labor groups violating the right-to-work provisions, and allowing workers to revoke their authorization for dues deductions at any time.  In announcing her support for the measure, Republican Governor Nikki Haley stated: “[W]e don't have unions because we don't need unions.”  Given the manner in which the Boeing case so prominently raised the profile of state right-to-work laws and their potential impact on attracting business, one has to wonder whether these legislative efforts would be as successful had Mr. Solomon decided not to issue the complaint.