From the 1970s to the early 2000s, Detroit sank into poverty. Entire neighborhoods were bulldozed, drug dealers seemed to be on every corner, jobs were gone, families were gone, and houses were on the market for less than $10,000.
Although automobile-related jobs did not leave the country, some people did. The real story was that factories moved out of union states and mobile vans delivered jobs to South Carolina, Alabama, Texas, and Tennessee. why? Because these states had pro-business policies and refused to cede control to corrupt union leaders.
Over the past 30 years, right-to-work states have created twice as many jobs as forced union states. “We've seen a lot of changes,” said Jonathan Williams, an economist at ALEC, which represents thousands of state legislators. Added 1.3 million jobsMeanwhile, states without right-to-work lost 1.1 million jobs. ”
That's one of the many reasons the fast-growing South has taken over the lead in industrial production from the rusty Midwest and Northeast. A lot of CEOs have told me this. “If a state isn't suitable for work, we won't even consider locating there.”
Michigan realized about a decade ago that it had to change or disappear. Michigan joins 25 other states as “right to work” states. Approximately 150,000 workers said goodbye to their unions. The University of Michigan was revived and a mini-renaissance ensued. It was like the Michigan Wolverines winning the college football national championship.
Throughout this period, however, trade unions remained relentlessly opposed. They staged a protest in front of the capital, chanting, “Hey, hey, ho, ho! The right to work must end.” They spent tens of millions of dollars to elect Democrats to overturn the law.
Whitmer and her cronies also resorted to a false propaganda campaign that this was all about “restoring workers' rights.” Just against it.Forced unionization undermines workers' rights, because from now on in Michigan you Must If you join a trade union, you too. Must Pay your dues to corrupt union leaders. The United Auto Workers union has been plagued by financial fraud and huge payouts to union leaders. This is not communicated to ordinary workers whose wages are being stolen to pay this high price.
Right-to-work states do not prohibit trade unions. There are union facilities throughout the South. All workers choose for themselves whether or not to participate. Many workers, especially the hardest and most productive workers, would rather negotiate their own pay. taller than than a rigid union pay scale. (Related: Stan Greer: Massive lawsuit could determine how much power union bosses have over employees. Here's how)
Gretchen Whitmer is turning back the clock. Not in Michigan's glory days, but in the Rust Belt, when factory doors closed and lines of unemployed workers grew long. So much for “Long Live the Victors.”
Stephen Moore is the chief economist at FreedomWorks and a senior fellow at the Heritage Foundation. His latest book is “Govzilla: How the Relentless Growth of Government Is Embroidered Our Economy.”
The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller News Foundation.
