Your daily “right to work” roundup
Friday, May 8, 2015 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Nothing yet from the governor’s office. From the Illinois AFL-CIO…
Just received word that the Rauner anti-worker agenda has been pulled from the Adams County Board agenda for May 12. We will keep you posted if it comes back.
Alert for upcoming Rauner anti-worker agenda activity: Saturday, May 9 – Henry County Board Executive Committee, 8 a.m., 307 West Center Street, Cambridge
* Meanwhile, parsing the Speaker’s decision to call the governor’s “right to work” proposal for a vote next week…
“The message may well be that if they want to accomplish anything this session, then Rauner had better get off a couple of things that have almost no chance of passing,” said Mike Lawrence, a longtime statehouse journalist, former aide to Gov. Jim Edgar and retired director of the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute.
While cautioning he had no inside scoop, Lawrence said, “I think it will be clear after this vote that right-to-work has virtually no chance of passing. I have a difficult time seeing where anything on the union front is going to happen.”
One by one, Madigan is addressing issues that Rauner has raised, Lawrence said. And by showing the governor where he seriously lacks votes, Madigan might be saying it’s time to shift focus.
Political scientist Chris Mooney said the message from Madigan to Rauner may be one of “who’s for what and who’s not.”
Although enormously accomplished in business, Rauner might also be getting a lesson from the speaker on the legislative process, said Mooney, director of the University of Illinois’ Institute of Government and Political Affairs.
They’re both right, plus more.
…Adding… I gave a speech last night and I wasn’t able to post House GOP Leader Jim Durkin’s response to Madigan’s right to work vote plan…
“I believe the working groups, particularly the one dealing with this issue, need to continue their work negotiating consensus. That is a better approach to take.”
* And from the University of New Mexico’s Tamara Kay…
The most rigorous research study available–published in 2011 by the nonpartisan Economic Policy Institute and conducted by Heidi Shierholz (now the chief economist of the US Department of Labor) and Elise Gould–controlled for 42 variables. It found that right-to-work laws result in lower wages and a lower likelihood of health care and pensions for union and non-union workers. It also shows right-to-work laws have no impact on economic growth.
Right-to-work proponents, however, have used “research” reports that control for few if any variables, to suggest that right-to-work states have done better on a variety of growth measures, predicting that their state would similarly benefit by passing a bill.
For example, the Wisconsin Public Research Institute, a member of the free-market-oriented State Policy Network, published such a report before the state passed its law that claimed that adopting right-to-work could increase per-capita income by 6 percentage points. But the study only controlled for eight variables, which isn’t nearly enough to control for all the different factors that affect changes in income.
In other words, the conclusions are meaningless. In the world of medical research, this would be like testing a cancer drug without using a control group that was not given the drug, ensuring that its pure effect could be isolated.
Go read the whole thing.
- Oswego Willy - Friday, May 8, 15 @ 10:33 am:
“Good Morning ‘ck’-
What you have there is your hat. It’s being handed to you.
If your boss wants to stop waste, stop these ignorant votes engineered by his office.
Thanks!
ow”
- Not quite a majority - Friday, May 8, 15 @ 10:35 am:
At least these votes are keeping people in the seats. With no bills from the Gov’s office, long lunches and early dinners at Maldeners would seem like the way to go
- PoliticalPro - Friday, May 8, 15 @ 10:57 am:
Turnaround Illinois…Recall Rauner!
- Tournaround Agenda - Friday, May 8, 15 @ 11:00 am:
PoliticalPro, how many times do you need to be called out on that dumb appeal to recall Rauner? This isn’t the comments section of the Bumpkin Times.
- Oswego Willy - Friday, May 8, 15 @ 11:01 am:
- PoliticalPro -,
I thought they turned off the Wifi in your dorm room…
Don’t call yourself a pro, let us mock you for that title on our own…
Dope
- Norseman - Friday, May 8, 15 @ 11:06 am:
Since this is Pension Decision Good Friday, I’ll keep it positive and snark free. Lawrence is a keen observer of the legislative process, like the blog’s frequent commenter Steve Schnorf. He’s on it. Listen and engage Governor. You believe you have a superstar staff. That’s fine, but a leader needs to lead. Engage and bring in the four tops. We have a huge problem that requires special intervention by all.
- BlameBruceRauner - Friday, May 8, 15 @ 11:15 am:
PoliticalPro I love your spirit, but its better to cut your losses than continue to get buried.
- Rich Miller - Friday, May 8, 15 @ 11:16 am:
Oh, PoliticalPro… won’t see him no more.
- downstate commissioner - Friday, May 8, 15 @ 11:16 am:
As has happened before, if a governor does not lead, then Mr. Madigan WILL step in and do the job…
Mr. Rauner should have been aware of that…
And some Republican legislators needed to be reminded of that-Hope they got the message.
- truthteller - Friday, May 8, 15 @ 11:18 am:
Just as with climate change,the right wing will not let facts get in their way. They will continue to do the bidding of the Koch brothers and other rich benefactors
- walker - Friday, May 8, 15 @ 11:33 am:
We’ve missed the point if we think that Right To Work is being pushed to increase economic growth, general employment rates, or wages or benefits. It is to increase employer profitability, nothing more. Claiming other benefits has been proven a smokescreen.
Rauner’s crew and allies think RTW will help them to compete for companies moving operations to Illinois. That’s all.
- walker - Friday, May 8, 15 @ 11:39 am:
The biggest non-economic reason Right To Work is being pushed so hard nationally by Republicans: to defund and defang their opponents by any means possible.
- AmeturePro - Friday, May 8, 15 @ 12:13 pm:
Ya Willy, we won’t see him no more!
- Oswego Willy - Friday, May 8, 15 @ 12:18 pm:
1) Ya spelled amateur wrong. You’re welcome.
2) You want to take on Rich? Good luck with that.
3) I don’t expect your visit will be long.
OW
- Turnaround Illinois,,,Recall Rauner - Friday, May 8, 15 @ 1:47 pm:
Willy playing the victim is pathetic. If the man cannot get his point across without Rich carrying his water then you should both get out of the blog business. We still think Rauner should be recalled!
- Oswego Willy - Friday, May 8, 15 @ 1:48 pm:
Do. Not. Feed. Trolls.
- Tournaround Agenda - Friday, May 8, 15 @ 3:15 pm:
“We” think? Even if you have multiple personalities, you’re still one person.
- Oswego Willy - Friday, May 8, 15 @ 3:17 pm:
Don’t you guys have a class to ditch?
- ArchPundit - Friday, May 8, 15 @ 3:19 pm:
So the daily updates from the Guv’s office on who is passing his proclamation seems to be backfiring like everything else he tries. Consistent, that one.