Workers have the freedom to create and join, but only some states let employees decide not to join the union that may exist at their worksite. These states, which protect the “right to work,” bounced back from the pandemic much faster than states that restrict this freedom.
Of course, right-to-work isn’t the only policy that helps states rebuild. Most of the best performers also have lower tax rates and impose less red tape on entrepreneurs. These and other pro-liberty policies encourage job creation and wage growth. Will more states reap the rewards of a right-to-work approach? Not if unions get their way. They’ve successfully pressured the politicians they fund to block such laws. In my home state ofFew things could be worse for Michigan’s recovery. Our right-to-work law helped explain our strong household income growth and large drop in unemployment over the past decade.