"Right To Work" really means right to get injured or killed in the work place…

[MrScorpio]

[Omaha Steve]

1. K&R!

[socialist_n_TN]

2. NOT a surprise.....

But thanks for the info that proves the intuition,

[Half-Century Man]

3. Billboards.

National advertising campaign

[Auntie Bush]

4. "Right to Work" is similar in truth to Bush's "Blue Skies."

i.e. Right to pollute.

[HiPointDem]

5. kr

[socialist_n_TN]

6. Oh hell, this deserves another kick.......

Capitalism in action. I've seen it all my life and I'm pretty fuckin' old.

[Occulus]

7. And to get drug tested for being hurt,

and then fired for dropping dirty.

[byeya]

8. Right to Work = Right to Slave and be subject to being fired on a whim. Capitalism, late stage, will

not last much longer. What will replace it, I have no idea, but parasite capitalism is in the check out line for the dirt nap.

[Jim Lane]

9. I'm dubious about inferring causation.

The "right to work" states are generally more conservative and could reasonably be assumed to be less protective of worker safety: more permissive regulations, less effective enforcement of such regulations as are in place, and a judicial system that in various ways is biased against workers.

It's certainly true that "right to work" laws weaken unions and that unions do negotiate some safety rules as part of their collective bargaining agreements. My guess, though, is that government regulation is more important in worker safety. Even in states without "right to work" laws, union membership is low by historical standards.

[socialist_n_TN]

10. It has to do with ENFORCING the worker safety statutes too......

A government that can't afford to hire enough inspectors and, IF the ones they DO hire are in bed with the capitalists, it would naturally be less safe. Then you add in RW executives in these states who philosophically don't BELIEVE in worker safety (or for that matter, ANY) regulations and you have a situation where death for a worker is merely part of doing business.

As to union representation and whether it helps or not, I can offer a personal experience. When I was a young man, I worked in a shipyard, with a section of the workforce represented by the Boilermakers Union. I was a shop steward and at least twice I stepped in and stopped unsafe working practices. And this was in a mostly union shop, BUT IN A RIGHT TO WORK STATE! So, what a good union CAN do is to make sure that the management is held accountable for unsafe workplace practices. You won't find that in non-union shops.

[GoCubsGo]

11. There's also a lawsuit factor there.

Here in these so-called "right to work" states, you are told of the hazards of your job at the onset. Once you are warned about them, it is extremely difficult for you to successfully sue if you are injured. They make it your fault for not following the rules, even if your employer has been threatening you with termination if you refuse to work under unsafe conditions. In free-bargaining states, employers have the onus of lawsuits hanging over their heads, and are usually extra-careful when it comes to following safety regulations. They don't want to lose their pants in a lawsuit.

[byeya]

12. It's the workers who report the unsafe conditions and if there's a strong union, the steward will

immediately inform management of the danger to the workers. If given a cold shoulder, the union can pull the workers off the job or institute a work-to-rule regime until the problem is addressed.
OSHA inspectors are few and far between and can't act with the speed of those in the collective bargaining unit. Government regulations are important but not as important as having a strong democratic union which puts the workers first.

As an aside, OSHA has enough money to double its inspection force. Both Republicans and Democrats have allowed (encouraged?) agenies like this one to become top heavy with highly paid managers who mostly think of ways to avoid responsibility and not rile the corporations. Only the workers suffer.

Then you have Republicans appoint a Thorne Auchter(sp?) as head of OSHA who basically did what he could to neuter the agency because he, and his appointer, didn't believe in the agency mission.

An activist union will do more for worker safety than a government agency. That's one reason both parties are all for weakening the union movement worldwide.

[jmowreader]

13. The kinds of work done in those states matters too

North Dakota and Wyoming are oil states, Arkansas processes poultry and South Dakota is a mining state. Without shop stewards to keep employers from cutting corners, those very dangerous industries become extremely dangerous.