Right-to-work laws guarantee that no person may be compelled to pay dues to a labor union in the form of a union, closed or agency shop agreement. 

Manufacturing jobs increased by 493,300 from 1982 to 1998 in right-to- work states,  while declining 1,063,200 in states with compulsory union laws. 

Ohio loses jobs 

Ohio, which does not have a right-to-work law, lost 66,900 manufacturing jobs over the same period. 

The number of manufacturing jobs in right-to-work states grew 8.2 percent from 1982 to 1998.  Non-right-to-work states lost 7.9 percent of their manufacturing jobs during the same period.  Ohio lost 5.7 percent of its manufacturing jobs. 

Growth in right-to-work states

Research published by the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis finds "evidence that manufacturing activity increased abruptly when crossing the right-to-work border into a right-to-work state."   The report additionally finds "that manufacturing employment in a county as a percent of total employment in the county increases on average by approximately one-third when crossing the border into a right-to-work state." 

Right-to-work states also have higher rates of growth in annual per capita income.  From 1992 to 1996, right-to-work states saw an annual 4.6 percent increase in per capita income,  with non-right-to-work states showing only a 3.2 percent annual increase.   The U.S. average was 3.6 percent,  with Ohio at 4.1 percent.