NFL Players oppose so-called "Right-to-Work"

So-called “Right to Work” laws (we call them Right to Work for Less) are important for everybody to understand, not just union members. Essentially these laws are designed to bust unions, but studies show that as a side-effect they lower the compensation of non-union workers, too.

They pressure unions by not allowing the collection of union dues, but still requiring unions to represent workers filing grievance claims, or use any other union benefit free of cost. Not a very free-market approach, it’s adding free-loaders to the unions overhead costs. Not paying union dues might sound good on the surface, but look deeper: the big business groups that push these laws don’t have your interests in mind. They have just one goal—lowering labor costs to raise executive pay and bonuses.

And the players of the NFL understand exactly what’s at stake for everybody else.

NFLPA Statement on So-Called ‘Right-to-Work’ Legislation

NFLPA Statement on So-Called ‘Right-to-Work’ Legislation

{ The players of the NFL, stressing unity and workers’ rights, oppose “right-to-work” legislation being proposed in Indiana. }

Author: NFL Players Association

January 6, 2012

Contact: Carl Francis

Carl.Francis@nflplayers.com

(202) 756-9169

NFLPA STATEMENT ON SO-CALLED ‘RIGHT-TO-WORK’ LEGISLATION IN INDIANA

WASHINGTON—As NFL players, we know our success on the field comes from working together as a team. We’re not just a team of football players—we’re also the fans at games and at home, the employees who work the concession stands and the kids who wear the jerseys of our favorite football heroes. NFL players know what it means to fight for workers’ rights, better pensions and health and safety in the workplace.

To win, we have to work together and look out for one another. Today, even as the city of Indianapolis is exemplifying that teamwork in preparing to host the Super Bowl, politicians are looking to destroy it trying to ram through so-called “right-to-work” legislation.

“Right-to-work” is a political ploy designed to destroy basic workers’ rights. It’s not about jobs or rights, and it’s the wrong priority for Indiana.

The facts are clear—according to a January 2012 Economic Policy Institute briefing report (“Working Hard to Make Indiana Look Bad”), “right-to-work” will lower wages for a worker in Indiana by $1,500 a year because it weakens the ability of working families to work together, and it will make it less likely that working people will get health care and pensions.

So-called “right-to-work” bills divide working families at a time when communities need to stand united. We need unity—not division. We urge legislators in Indiana to oppose “right-to-work” efforts, and focus instead on job creation.

As Indianapolis proudly prepares to host the Super Bowl it should be a time to shine in the national spotlight and highlight the hard-working families that make Indiana run instead of launching political attacks on their basic rights. It is important to keep in mind the plight of the average Indiana worker and not let them get lost in the ceremony and spectacle of such a special event. This Super Bowl should be about celebrating the best of what Indianapolis has to offer, not about legislation that hurts the people of Indiana.

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