More than 80 orgs to Missouri Legislature: Right-to-work benefits states
We represent organizations from across the country dedicated to promoting worker freedom. Our organizations’ nonpartisan analysis shows that increasing worker freedom produces greater prosperity and growth in state economies, and we urge you to consider these benefits as you contemplate “right to work” in Missouri.
The data are clear: right-to-work states outperform their non-right-to-work counterparts. According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, right-to-work states have experienced greater job growth, population growth, and compensation growth over every significant measured amount of time. Adjusted for cost of living, workers in right-to-work states earn just as much as workers in non-right-to-work states. And union membership actually grew in many states after they passed right-to-work legislation.
Missouri is surrounded by right-to-work states and continues to lag economically. But it is not just border states benefiting at Missouri’s expense. According to IRS data, from 1992 to 2013, Missouri lost well over $3.5 billion of income to Florida, Texas, Arizona, and North Carolina – all right-to-work states.
In many of our states, citizens have been fortunate to enjoy the benefits of right to work, and our economies have prospered as a result. For those citizens in the states that have not yet passed this crucial reform, we continue to advocate for and explain the benefits of increasing worker freedom.
As part of this effort, many of our organizations recently participated in National Employee Freedom Week, in which we educate union workers about the freedoms available to them – how to opt out of the union entirely in right-to-work states, and how to be freed from certain dues in non-right-to-work states.
In years past, hundreds of workers across the country chose to free themselves of union obligations. Undoubtedly, there are many workers right here in Missouri who wish to be freed from union membership and all corresponding obligations. We believe every worker in America should be afforded that basic liberty.
The undersigned coalition of public policy research and grassroots advocacy organizations strongly supports right to work. Right to work would mean freedom for workers, accountability for unions, and an enormous boost for the Missouri economy.
Sincerely,
Patrick Werner, Missouri State Director
Americans for Prosperity
Dan Greenberg, President
Advance Arkansas Institute
Caleb Crosby, President and CEO
Alabama Policy Institute
Jon Russell, Director
American City County Exchange
Phil Kerpen, President
American Commitment
Sean Noble, President
American Encore
Lisa B. Nelson, CEO
American Legislative Exchange Council
Coley Jackson, President
Americans for Competitive Enterprise
Richard Manning, President
Americans for Limited Government
Grover Norquist, President
Americans for Tax Reform
Scot Mussi, President
Arizona Free Enterprise Club
John Mielke, President
Associated Builders and Contractors of Wisconsin
Colin Sharkey, Executive Vice President
Association of American Educators Foundation
Justin Owen, President
Beacon Center of Tennessee
Jim Waters, President
Bluegrass Institute for Public Policy Solutions (Kentucky)
Rea S. Hederman Jr., Executive Vice President
Buckeye Institute (Ohio)
John Stapleford, President
Caesar Rodney Institute (Delaware)
Larry Sand, President
California Teachers Empowerment Network
Karen England, Executive Director
Capitol Resource Family Alliance
John A. Charles, Jr., President & CEO
Cascade Policy Institute (Oregon)
Jeffrey Mazzella, President
Center for Individual Freedom
Matt Patterson, Executive Director
Center for Worker Freedom
Kim Crockett, Chief Operating Officer, EVP
and General Counsel Center of the American Experiment (Minnesota)
Chuck Muth, President
Citizen Outreach (Nevada)
Brian Balfour, Director of Policy
Dr. Robert Luebke, Senior Policy Analyst
Civitas Institute (North Carolina)
Matthew J. Brouillette, President and CEO
Commonwealth Foundation (Pennsylvania)
Iain Murray, Vice President of Strategy
Competitive Enterprise Institute
Dan Caldwell, Legislative and Political Director
Concerned Veterans for America
Rob Roper, President
Ethan Allen Institute (Vermont)
Jonathan Haines, Director
Federalism in Action
Brian Minnich, Vice President
Freedom Foundation (Washington)
Annette Meeks, CEO
Freedom Foundation of Minnesota
Marc Short, President
Freedom Partners
Andrew Clark, President
Generation Opportunity
Louie Hunter, Chair
Georgia Center Right Coalition
Kelly McCutchen, President
Georgia Public Policy Foundation
Burly Cain, Executive Director
GOAL Advocacy (New Mexico)
Wayne Hoffman, President
Idaho Freedom Foundation
John Tillman, CEO
Illinois Policy Institute
Don Racheter, Immediate Past Chairman
Iowans for Right-to-work
Sal J. Nuzzo, Vice President of Policy
James Madison Institute (Florida)
Jon Sanders, Director of Regulatory Studies
John Locke Foundation (North Carolina)
Charles M. Arlinghaus, President
Josiah Bartlett Center for Public Policy (New Hampshire)
Dave Trabert, President
Kansas Policy Institute
Seton Motley, President
Less Government
Michael Carnuccio, President
Liberty Foundation of America (Oklahoma)
Dee Hodges, President
Maryland Taxpayers Association
Paul D. Craney, Executive Director
Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance
Tim Jones, Chairman
Missouri Club for Growth
Mary Hill, Executive Director
Missouri Employment Freedom
Lew Uhler, President
National Tax Limitation Committee
Pete Sepp, President
National Taxpayers Union
Doug Kagan, President
Nebraska Taxpayers for Freedom
Victor Joecks, Executive Vice President
Nevada Policy Research Institute
Chris Rogers, President
New Jersey Taxpayers’ Association
Carla J. Sonntag, President and Founder
New Mexico Business Coalition
Dave Bond, CEO
OCPA Impact
Jonathon Small, Executive Vice President
Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs
Kevin P. Kane, President
Pelican Institute for Public Policy (Louisiana)
Jim Vokal, CEO
Platte Institute for Economic Research (Nebraska)
Don Racheter, President
Public Interest Institute (Iowa)
Lori Sanders, Outreach Director & Senior Fellow
R Street Institute
Mike Stenhouse, CEO
Rhode Island Center for Freedom and Prosperity
Paul J. Gessing, President
Rio Grande Foundation (New Mexico)
- Scott Moody, CEO
State Budget Solutions
Maureen Blum, President
Strategic Coalitions & Initiatives
Derek Monson, Director of Public Policy
Sutherland Institute (Utah)
David Williams, President
Taxpayers Protection Alliance
Judson Phillips, Founder
Tea Party Nation
Brooke L Rollins, President/CEO
Texas Public Policy Foundation
Joseph Bast, President and CEO
The Heartland Institute
Lisa B. Nelson, CEO
The Jeffersonian Project
Daniel Garza, Executive Director
The LIBRE Initiative
- Vincent Vernuccio, JD, Director of Labor Policy
The Mackinac Center for Public Policy (Michigan)
Mike Quatrano, Director of Civic Engagement
The Maine Heritage Policy Center
Amy Ridenour, Chairman
The National Center for Public Policy Research
Michael W. Thompson, Chairman and President
Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy (Virginia)
Carl Bearden, Executive Director
United for Missouri
Rose Bogart , Chair
Wayne County Taxpayers Association (Michigan)
Rick Esenberg, President and General Counsel
Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty
Scott Manley, Vice President of Government Relations
Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce
Heather Greenaway, Executive Director
Workforce Fairness Institute
Carol Platt Liebau, President
Yankee Institute (Connecticut)
