Right to Work - right for Missouri

Missouri has lost tens of thousands of family-supporting jobs over the past several years as business after business moves out of our state (often just across the border) or closes down due to out-of-date economic policies which drown companies under red tape and heavy taxes. Unfortunately, the Nixon administration has done nothing to stem the tide, as they continue to focus on the same tired big-government policies which put our economy in this position. This is holding us back and keeping Missouri from competing for the jobs we need.

Missouri's workforce is highly educated and hardworking, and if we take the right approach to economic development legislation I am sure our economy could become among the strongest in the nation.

In testimony offered to the legislature over the past several years, site selection experts have pointed to Freedom to Work as a pass/fail issue for many companies looking to establish new locations; as many as 50 percent refuse to locate in a state without a Freedom to Work law for fear of forced unionization, and of the remaining businesses approximately 50 percent weigh a state's Freedom to Work status when making their decision.

Adopting this simple rule will have a very positive impact on our economy by opening us up for more jobs. In Indiana and Michigan, the adoption of this legislation has ended the loss of manufacturing jobs and it will do the same here.

The economic evidence is clear -- states with a Freedom to Work law are better for jobs and better for workers. Between 2008 and 2012, median household income in Missouri dropped by $1,546, whereas median income actually grew in five of six surrounding Right to Work states.

The cost of living is also lower in Right to Work states. According to the Missouri Economic Research and Information Center, Missouri had the 17th-lowest cost of living index in the nation, during the third quarter of 2013. However, we are bested by every single one of the six surrounding Freedom to Work states. Indeed, Oklahoma and Tennessee -- destinations for many of the jobs which have left our state -- are among the top five states with the lowest cost of living. Nationwide, nine of the 10 states with the lowest cost of living are Freedom to Work states.

Manufacturing jobs are also more prevalent in Freedom to Work states. Between 2002 and 2012, the National Institute for Labor Relations Research found that the real manufacturing GDP in states with a Freedom to Work law increased by 31.8 percent, while the growth rate was only 20.6 percent in other states.

Opponents claim that this is an anti-union bill, but that could not be further from the truth. This bill is about real life economics and personal freedom, and it will benefit unions by encouraging economic growth. As the old saying goes, a rising tide lifts all boats, and other Freedom to Work states have seen this happen. Between 2011 and 2012, Oklahoma -- which has a Freedom to Work law -- added 21,000 union members. Over the same year, Missouri lost 51,000 union members because of our stagnant economy.

I appreciate the leadership Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder and state Rep. Holly Rehder have shown on this issue, and I look forward to passing this legislation.

State Rep. Tim Jones (R-Eureka) is the Speaker of the Missouri House of Representatives.