INDIANAPOLIS (AP) —
Indiana became the Rust Belt's first right-to-work state Wednesday in a
move that is sure to embolden advocates seeking to curtail union rights
across the country. But whether other states can replicate the
conservatives' success in Indiana is less certain.
The political
factors that aligned in Indiana were so unique, and it is unlikely the
same thing could happen in other states — at least for now.
Gov.
Mitch Daniels' signature Wednesday on the bill that made Indiana the
nation's 23rd right-to-work state was the end of a contentious two-year
political battle that included partisan bickering, lawmaker walkouts,
legislative stall tactics and union protests. In the end, Indiana marked
the first win for national right-to-work supporters who tried in vain
last year to push the measure despite a Republican sweep of statehouses
nationwide in 2010.
It also could stand as their only victory for a
while, based on a mix of obstacles that have spurned advocates in other
states stretching from New Hampshire to Minnesota. The very factors
that made Indiana's right-to-work campaign uniquely successful — large
state House and Senate majorities and Daniels' ability to clear one last
run for governor in 2008 before mounting a unified push for the measure
— also could undermine similar efforts elsewhere.
National Right
to Work Committee Vice President Greg Mourad says two major obstacles
have blocked his group's progress: governors who oppose right-to-work
and pro-union Republicans in state legislatures. But much of that could
change in 2012 depending on how some key state elections pan out.
"The next election should tell us quite a bit," Mourad said Wednesday afternoon.
In
New Hampshire, right-to-work supporters found themselves unable to
overturn a veto from Democratic Gov. John Lynch last year. Lynch is not
running for re-election in November and the New Hampshire governor's
office has often been traded between Democrats and Republicans in the
last few decades.
Likewise in Montana, Democratic Gov. Brian
Schweitzer is term-limited against seeking re-election in November. His
veto threat has stalled efforts there, Mourad said.
However in
other Rust Belt states, right-to-work advocates have run up against
squeamish Republicans who don't want to pick fights with private sector
unions whose influence has waned with the decline of American
manufacturing, but not to a point where they are no longer a clear
political threat.
Michigan's Republican Gov. Rick Snyder, who is
up for re-election in 2014, has called right-to-work "too divisive" and
Michigan's Republican Senate Majority Leader Randy Richardville said
last week he doubted right-to-work would bring the economic benefits
promised by supporters.
Experts say many factors influence states'
economies and that it's nearly impossible to isolate the impact of
right to work. For major industries, access to supplies, infrastructure,
key markets and a skilled workforce are key
factors, according to business recruitment specialists. For a state's
workers, the impact of right-to-work legislation is limited because only
about 7 percent of private sector employees are unionized. Over the
years, job growth has surged in states with, and without, right-to-work
laws.
"They are often the problem, guys like Randy Richardville,
who have been pretty comfortable with unions," Mourad said. Mourad noted
that dealing with pro-labor Republicans can mean either building large
pro-right-to-work majorities around them in a chamber or voting them out
of office.
Michigan's larger union presence has also made
Republican lawmakers pause more than their Indiana counterparts, who
work in a state where union membership dropped by roughly 50 percent in
the last decade.
Right-to-work supporters won a decisive victory
in Indiana in 2006 after the right-to-work supporter Sen. Greg Walker, a
Columbus Republican, unseated Indiana's long-time Republican Senate Pro
Tem Bob Garton, an ardent right-to-work opponent.
But even with
the right parts, a right-to-work victory is never guaranteed, said
Garton's successor, Senate President Pro Tem David Long, Republican of
Fort Wayne.
"It doesn't come without a fight," Long said. "It is a passionate issue and people don't want to take that fight on."
Meanwhile,
the union backlash in other Rust Belt states in the last few months has
emboldened opponents trying to bolster their defenses.
Wisconsin's
GOP-dominated Assembly passed a law backed by Gov. Scott Walker in
March that strips nearly all collective bargaining rights from
public-sector unions. Walker is now preparing for a recall election
after opponents turned in a million signatures aimed at forcing a vote
and ousting him from office. In November, Ohio voters repealed a law
limiting collective bargaining rights that was championed by Gov. John
Kasich and fellow Republican lawmakers.
Indiana right-to-work
opponents won a second key victory in December, when Daniels switched
his position on right-to-work. As a candidate for office, Daniels had
promised Indiana Teamsters in 2004 he would oppose any effort to make
Indiana a right-to-work state.
He explained his change as an evolution on the issue based on new facts and the ongoing problems.
"Seven
years of evidence and experience ultimately demonstrated that Indiana
did need a right-to-work law to capture jobs for which, despite our
highly rated business climate, we are not currently being considered,"
Daniels said in a statement Wednesday.
For states without all the
needed pieces, supporters have resorted to work-arounds and duct tape,
in their efforts to ban mandatory union fees.
Missouri
right-to-work supporters are attempting to skirt Democratic Gov. Jay
Nixon's almost certain veto by moving a version of the measure that
would go straight to the voters for consideration.
Likewise, in
Michigan, supporters are pushing a series of measures that opponents
have dubbed "mini right-to-work." A House committee controlled by
Republicans approved a bill Tuesday that would require employees to
annually renew their written consent allowing certain forms of union
dues to be deducted from their paychecks.
The lead sponsor of New
Hampshire's right-to-work proposal, Rep. Will Smith, Republican of New
Castle, has submitted a new version of the measure that would let public
employees could opt out of joining a union but would then have them
negotiate their own contracts.
Smith says he hopes the re-jiggered bill will win the few extra votes needed to overturn another likely veto from Lynch.
___
Associated
Press writers Glenn Adams in Augusta, Maine, Garrett Brnger in Concord,
N.H., Tom Davies in Indianapolis, David Lieb in Jefferson City and Tim
Martin in Lansing contributed to this report.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.