148 PART Two • The PolITIcs of AmeRIcAn DemocRAcy
of members of Congress share their profession. In terms of funds spent on lobbying,
however, one professional organization stands head and shoulders above the rest—the
American Medical Association. Founded in 1847, it is affiliated with more than 1,000 local
and state medical societies and has a total membership of about 216,000.The unorganized Poor. Some have argued that the system of interest group politics
leaves out poor Americans. If they are members of the working poor, they may hold
two or more jobs just to survive, leaving them no time to participate in interest groups.politics and economics
The share of private sector workers represented by
labor unions has declined steadily for decades. In about
half of the states, unions face “right-to-work” laws.
Under such legislation, contracts between unions and
employers that require workers to pay dues or fees to
the union as a condition of employment are banned.
Nonunion workers cannot be required to pay fees to
support collective bargaining, the filing of grievances,
and other services. Most right-to-work states are in the
South and the West, although Michigan and Indiana
became right-to-work states in 2012.OPPOSITION TO RIGHT-TO-WORK LAWS
Unions and other opponents of right-to-work laws
argue that such laws create a free-rider problem.
Federal law requires unions to represent everyone in
a given workplace, whether they are members or not.
Employees who do not pay dues or a representation fee
still benefit from any services that the union can sup-
ply. If union representatives negotiate better wages
and working conditions, nonunion workers obtain
these benefits as well. Unions must also represent non-
paying workers who file grievances. Not surprisingly,
opponents of right-to-work laws call them “right-to-
freeload” laws.THE EFFECT OF RIGHT-TO-WORK LAWS
Not surprisingly, right-to-work states have lower rates
of unionization than states that lack such legisla-
tion. For example, Georgia and North Carolina, both
right-to-work states, have unionization rates of about
5 percent. In contrast, without right-to-work laws,
California and New York have unionization rates of
almost 20 percent and 27 percent, respectively. Data
also suggest that employees in right-to-work states
earn wages about three percentage points lower than
wages for comparable jobs elsewhere. Employer-sponsored health-insurance plans are almost three
percentage points—and pensions about five percent-
age points—less common in right-to-work states.WHAT IS THE IMPACT ON EMPLOYMENT?
Other studies report numbers that can be used to
support right-to-work laws. The Mackinac Center for
Public Policy contends that from 1980 to 2012, employ-
ment growth in right-to-work states exceeded 70
percent, compared to about 30 percent in non-right-
to-work states. Another study compared Ohio (with no
right-to-work law) with Texas (a right-to-work state)
from 1998 to 2008. Employment in Ohio remained
about the same, while Texas added more than 1.5 mil-
lion jobs. Opponents of right-to-work laws argue that
such figures merely show that states with such laws
have an unfair advantage.THE CONSTITUTIONAL ARGUMENTS
Supporters of right-to-work laws argue that the First
Amendment to the Constitution guarantees freedom
of association. Accordingly, workers should have the
right both to join a union and to not join a union. The
right to avoid forced unionization should include free-
dom from paying any fees. Others, however, argue
that right-to-work laws violate freedom of contract. If
an employer and a union chosen by the majority of all
employees agree that all employees should either join
the union or pay a representation fee, they should have
the right to make such a contract.FOR CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Rates of unionization are falling all over the world. Some argue that
the real problem for unions isn’t unfriendly legislation but the dis-
appearance of traditionally unionized manufacturing jobs. Do you
agree? Why or why not?RIGHT-TO-WORK LAWS
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