Political Effects

Wages, employment, industrial structure, and inequality are all influenced by

labor unions. However, unions have an indirect impact on the economy and

labor market through their political activities, such as giving votes, volunteers,

and funds to candidates, as well as lobbying on public policy. This article

assesses the impact of unions on politics and policy from 1980 to 2016 by

looking at the enactment of right-to-work laws, which undermine unions by

removing agency shop protections.

This article will show that right-to-work laws cut Democratic Presidential vote

shares by 3.5 percentage points when counties on either side of a state and

right-to-work border are compared to causally identify the effects of the state

laws. Similar effects can be found in Senate, House, and Gubernatorial

elections, as well as state legislative control. After passage, turnout in right-to-

work counties are likewise 2 percentage points lower. Right-to-work legislation

reduces organized labor contributions to Democrats, and potential Democratic

voters are less likely to be contacted to vote, according to our research. The

weakening of unions has far-reaching consequences: fewer working-class

politicians are elected to state legislatures and Congress, and state policy shifts

to the right.

This article shows how RTW laws and weakened unions can affect

Democratic electoral success, and we find that once RTW laws are passed, the

total share of campaign contributions coming from unions drops by roughly

1.25 percentage points in states with RTW laws. Following the passage of RTW

laws, the share of overall contributions collected by Democratic politicians has

likewise decreased. As a result, Democrats appear unable to replace union

support with alternative sources of revenue, and they raise and spend less

money once RTW laws are passed. We look at the long-term impacts of weak

labor unions on state and federal politics, and we find that RTW laws have a big

impact on who runs for office and what state policies are implemented.

This article finishes with quantitative and qualitative research demonstrating

the impact of RTW laws on labor unions. Showing how RTW laws drive unions

to shift resources away from politics and toward membership recruitment and

retention. RTW laws force unions to work harder to maintain the same level of

revenue and resources by allowing workers to opt-out of paying dues to the

unions that represent them.

WORK CITED

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