RTW fails children’s education at all levels

As Missouri Republicans ponder passing RTW again, RTW gets failing grade – again

FIRST IN A SERIES

By ED FINKELSTEIN
Publisher

The latest data on the status of education in America is on a clear collision course with the specter of Missouri Republicans once again trying to force a phony, anti-worker, so-called “right-to-work for less (RTW)” into Missouri law.

The results clearly demonstrate yet another reason why Missouri twice rejected this phony law: it doesn’t benefit workers but rather is a law for the privileged.

And nowhere is that clearer than in education. When looking at the “best” and “worst” most educated states, once again RTW states fail their residents … and in this case their children.

Splitting the nation into the 25 best and worst states, 76 percent of RTW states fail their children – 19 of the 25; and of the best 25 states, only 8 (32 percent) are RTW.

Tragically, Missouri ranks 31^st overall, well into the worst grouping, while Illinois ranks 12^th in the nation, high up in the best grouping.

If that doesn’t clearly send a message to the Republican-controlled legislature that they need to put more emphasis into Missouri’s educational efforts and to stop playing against the middle class by trying to pass a RTW law in Missouri, Lord know what will.

Here are the numbers ranking the states when it comes to the best and worst educated states:

WORST STATES
• RTW: Tragically, 19 of the 25 worst educated states (76 percent) are RTW states.
• WITHOUT RTW: Not surprisingly, only six of the free states without a RTW law (24 percent) are found in the worst educated state category.

BEST STATES
• WITHOUT RTW: 17 of the 25 best states (68 percent) that have NO RTW law rank in the top half of the nation.
• RTW: only eight of the best states (32 percent) are RTW states.

IMPACT ON EDUCATION
The February 2021 report by the respected WalletHub notes that for most Americans, “…good education is the ticket to a better future… Generally, the higher the level of education one completes, the higher their income potential and the lower their chances of unemployment become.”

Thus, state spending on education becomes a life and job determining issue. Missouri and Illinois vary greatly in that area (see related charts with this story).

Illinois has a Democratic-controlled legislature that not only killed the RTW efforts of its previous Republican governor, but also refused to even consider a RTW bill.

Conversely, Missouri’s Republican-controlled legislature has three times tried to foist this anti-worker law on Missourians. Twice it was overwhelmingly rejected by the public, and the third effort late last year to put it on the ballot by initiative petition saw the Republican-drafted, biased wording on the petition thrown out by the courts as a result of a successful lawsuit by the Missouri AFL-CIO.

STATE COMPARISONS
In order to determine the most and least educated states in America, WalletHub compared the 50 states across two key dimensions, Educational Attainment and Quality of Education, using 18 metrics that examined the key factors of a well-educated population: educational attainment, school quality and achievement gaps between genders and races. The report was written by Wallet Hub financial writer Adam McCann. To review the full report, go to https://wallethub.com/edu/e/most-educated-states/31075.

The survey was conducted as part of the ongoing research efforts of WalletHub, a financial services site based in Washington, DC. that also offers insights on a diverse variety of community of subjects. Its data and charts are frequently referenced in news articles appearing in Bloomberg News, The Wall Street Journal, Fox News, USA Today, Forbes, Yahoo and The New York Times.

This is just one of many examples of the negative impact the phony, co-called RTW has had on working families in states that have imposed this destructive anti-union, anti-worker law.

(Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. News & World Report, Data Resource Center for Child and Adolescent Health, National Summer Learning Association, The Campaign for Free College Tuition, Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education, U.S. Department of Education, The College Board and WalletHub research.)