The Folly of "Right to Work"

Social science researcher Colin Gordon evaluates Michigan's decision to become a "right to work" state in this December 2012 Dissent magazine article. Gordon writes, "The 'right to work,' of course, neither conveys nor protects any rights whatsoever. Workers are nowhere forced to join to unions. They are, in non-right-to-work settings, simply asked to pay the portion of dues that covers the cost of bargaining. Denying that option not only impinges on the rights of workers who do sustain the costs of representation, as Dean Baker has pointed out, but also denies workers and employers alike the basic right to enter into contracts."

In addition to his text evaluation, Gordon has created a colorful graphic to illustrate his findings.