Just last week, another automotive manufacturer decided to locate in Georgia. At the same time, our neighbors in Tennessee and Mississippi are holding their breath that their automotive industries are not threatened as a result of new union activity.
Why are they so concerned? Because they know one of the factors key to bringing manufacturing to any state is its right-to-work status.
There is a reason the state of Michigan adopted a right-to-work law last year, and that Boeing may move even more of its operations from Washington state to South Carolina. Too often, union contract negotiations end in agreements that force companies to raise the price of goods, discourage investment and shrink their workforce, sending the very people unions claim to protect to the unemployment line.
Many unions use the promise of higher wages, increased benefits and job protections to garner support. However, a study by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy notes that nominal personal income grew by 60 percent more in right-to-work states than in non-right-to-work states from 1990 to 2011. The same states showed a 43 percent gain in total employment over the same period. According to The Heritage Foundation, non-union manufacturing jobs grew by 6.5 percent between 2010 and 2012 while unionized manufacturing employment dropped 4.7 percent.
These gains result from allowing employers the flexibility to make decisions that benefit both the employee and the consumer. They can set prices based on the marketplace, and as their business grows, so does their ability to pay wages and provide benefits. Successful companies are ultimately able to create more jobs, as we are seeing in Georgia today.
As key industry sectors grow in our state and region, unions are eager to expand their presence. Our organization, while committed to free market principles, realizes there are companies that have developed successful relationships with certain unions, and we support that team approach. We also know that, by its very definition, right-to-work means employees have the right to choose whether or not to belong to those unions, and we support that right.
That right is compromised, however, when union organizers such as the United Auto Workers attempt tactics such as threatening to deny a unionization vote by secret ballot. Disingenuous charades of a “fair election” are nothing but a power grab by organizations claiming to be standing up for the rights of employees.
The fact is, an expanded union presence in any state will likely cost jobs, not create them. While Georgia’s economy is growing, there are still thousands who need jobs, and their future employment depends on our ability to grow our economy. Our right-to-work status has helped make us the No. 1 state in the nation for companies to locate, invest and create the jobs our citizens deserve, and it will help us do so long into the future.
Chris Clark is president of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce.
