BuckeyeBlog

The Alliance for Worker Freedom just released a study ranking states on how much freedom workers in those states have. Ohio scored pretty low. From the report:

Ohio received an [Index of Worker Freedom] score of two out of 10, earning the state a “C-” grade. With a minimum wage of one dollar higher than the federal level, and an entrepreneurial average below the national average, Ohio must seek to create a more business friendly climate and worker protection legislation is the start.

With the last state to adopt right to work legislation being Oklahoma in 2001, Ohio should seek to complement its paycheck protection legislation with right to work laws. This will grant the privilege to the employee to say “no” to become part of an organized labor body. Additionally, if the employee does decide to join a union, and because of right to work laws does so of his own fruition, they know that their dues will not be used for political contributions.

Ohio, having a public sector union membership of almost 44 percent, should be commended for offering defined contribution pensions. While this is positive for workers and the economy, having Depression-era Davis-Bacon prevailing wage laws and closed collective bargaining session are most certainly detrimental for worker freedom. Ohio should seek to repeal their collective bargaining sessions, or at least, all sessions should remain open to the public.

By working on these variables, as well as others, Ohio should move toward a higher level of worker freedom, and see positive aspects in other sectors of society as a result.

This entry was posted on Monday, December 10th, 2007 at 5:33 pm and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.