Indiana legislators, both Republican and Democrat, may claim to know the will of the people on right-to-work. But, really, the lawmakers can only guess.
In fact, most Hoosiers have no firm opinion on that controversial labor law in use in 22 states and under consideration in the Indiana General Assembly. In a right-to-work state, companies and labor unions are prohibited from entering into a contract that forces non-members to pay dues for the union’s representation. The last state to enact a right-to-work law was Oklahoma in 2001. Most are in the South, Upper Plains and the Southwest. Given the passing of time and the lack of proximity to the issue, it’s understandable that Indiana residents are still forming their views.
“The people” have been bombarded by rhetoric from both sides, through well-funded ad campaigns. The messages are one-sided and rely on statistics gathered by like-minded advocacy groups, insisting that Indiana legislators would be irresponsible to (take your pick) enact or defeat the proposed right-to-work bill. Protests and heated words have erupted from the Statehouse in Indianapolis to communities around the state.
Hoosiers are in the middle of a shouting match, and that’s hardly a suitable setting for them to study this thorny subject.
Just before the year-end holidays, Republican lawmakers announced they would make right-to-work their top legislative priority for the 2012 session, which convened Jan. 4. Understandably, Hoosiers didn’t spend Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas and New Year’s poring over labor policies. Since the session started, little substantive debate has occurred because House Democrats — vastly outnumbered — have used walkouts to stall the bill by denying a quorum.
The most rational step would be for the legislators to put the right-to-work question on a statewide referendum — perhaps even a nonbinding one — so that voters can weigh in, during the Nov. 6 election. The gesture would be rare, but fair. The Senate Democrats pushed for a public referendum, but that body voted down the idea Friday by a virtual party-line margin, 36-14. (One Republican supported the referendum.) House Democrats insist they’ll end their boycott Monday if the majority Republicans allow a vote on the referendum idea. Despite Friday’s Senate rejection, the House should revive the referendum plan and set it up for this fall.
A vote by the public is warranted. The GOP considers right-to-work the top priority. Yet, in a survey last year by the
Bowen Center for Public Affairs (named in honor of former Republican Gov. Otis R. Bowen), 48 percent of Indiana residents polled said they were undecided or had no opinion yet on right-to-work. Of those able to express an opinion, only 27 percent said they support a right-to-work law, while 24 percent opposed it. Twenty-seven percent is far from a mandate. And, with nearly half of Hoosiers undecided, the legislators should cool their political heels, instead of digging them in, and let the people digest the information.
It’s like smitten teenagers rushing too fast into a wedding; if right-to-work is meant to be for Indiana, it will be just as valid in November.