Family life suffers badly in RTW states

FIFTH IN A SERIES

By ED FINKELSTEIN
Publisher Emeritus

Raising a family is both so joyous and so stressful, for so many different reasons.

But sadly, raising a family in states with the phony, so-called “right-to-work (for less)”law (RTW) is not what it should be.

And so, it’s fitting that on the verge of summer ending, the Labor Tribune takes an in-depth dive into how RTW impacts family life.

(EDITOR’S NOTE: While Michigan recently repealed its RTW law, for this report it’s still counted as a RTW state, as the source report was written earlier this year.)

WORST STATES
• WITH RTW: 20 of the “worst” 25 states – 80 percent – are RTW states where it’s more difficult to raise a family.
• WITHOUT RTW: only five of the “worst” 25 states – 20 percent – with NO RTW law are in the worst half of all states where it’s more difficult to raise a family.

BEST STATES
• WITHOUT RTW: 18 of the top 25 states – 72 percent – with NO RTW law are considered the “best” states to raise a family.
• WITH RTW: Only seven of the top 25 states – 28 percent – are RTW states listed in the top 25 “best“ states to raise a family.

“There is little doubt that the Missouri Republicans will at some point in the future make yet another attempt to force us to live under phony anti-worker, anti-union ‘right-to-work’ laws,” said St. Louis Labor Council President Pat White. “And while we beat them back at the ballot box, rest assured that behind the scenes they are working hard to try and figure out a way to bring it back with its phony slogans and lies about its effect on all workers to try and trick voters.”