Will Virginia politicians empower labor rights, if they don't will it harm them

Politics & Elections
1

Virginia is passing some gun reform, voter reform, women’s rights laws, etc. which is great.

But I don’t know if they are passing labor reform to make it easier to join a union, overturn right to work laws or things like that.

Has the new leadership in the state of Virginia done anything to empower the labor movement, and if they fail to do so will it cost them in the upcoming elections?

2

Virginia doesn’t have a strong labor movement if you consider the numbers in comparison to the US as a whole. This Bureau of Labor Statistics cite mostly looks at the period of less labor friendly laws. Still there is this quote:

That predates a lot of major legislative moves nationwide seen as anti-union. During the 2007-2017 period in Chart 1 Virginia union membership has generally been about 1/3 to 1/2 the average rate for the US.

Maybe their laws were just much more restrictive than the nation as a whole. Let’s compare with Wisconsin that saw some big changes and a recall effort of their governor over union issues. They were above national average but dipped below average in that time frame. Even after Scott Walker’s big right to work law push they still were almost double in 2017 the relatively flat-lined union membership in Virginia.

Is there some major and older law in VA that caused that? Maybe. Maybe VA workers just are less into unions. If it is that second there may not be much political upside and quite a bit of downside risk to focus on union issues.

3

But I think that is more a legacy of being a southern state.

Of the 9 states with union membership below 5%, seven of them are southern states. The other 2 are plains states.

Rebuilding the labor movement would be a good way for Virginia democrats to cement their hold on power.

4

I agree with you, Wesley, but two things cross my mind here:

  1. The VA Dems are doing a shitload of stuff already - automatic voter registration, same-day registration, and anti-gerrymandering laws (which will also help them cement their hold on power), raising the minimum wage, ultimately to $15 and increasing with inflation after that (which will give a lot of marginal voters a concrete reason to show up and vote Dem), gun control measures, etc.

I’m gonna give 'em points for doing so much right out of the gate, rather than grousing about one more thing they might should have done.

  1. Repealing ‘right to work’ would be a positive thing, but how much good would it do? I’m asking because the corporate world has been able to gut the labor movement pretty much everywhere in the U.S., regardless of whether they have those laws in a particular state. ISTM that without some changes in Federal law, RTW repeal would be more symbolic than effectual. And if that’s the case, you can’t exactly blame legislators for not sticking their necks out for it.

Thoughts?

ETA: You mention “mak[ing] it easier to join a union.” Are there state laws in other states that do this? I didn’t know that this was something states could do, but I confess my ignorance on this subject.

5

Most Americans don’t want RtW repealed. While I doubt Virginians are more in favor of repeal than the rest of the country, I haven’t seen any state-specific polls.

6

Well of course not - most Americans don’t have it to begin with, and you can’t repeal a law you don’t have!

7

The west coast and northeast have rejected right to work laws and they’re doing fine.

The labor movement provides a lot of volunteers and financial support to democrats. not only that, but when a high school educated white man joins a union, his chances of voting democratic go from about ~25% up to about 60%.

8

I phrased that poorly; most Americans favor RtW laws. At least they did in 2014; if anyone has newer numbers, let’s see them. The numbers vary depending on how you ask the question, but are overwhelmingly in support of RtW laws: Labor Unions | Gallup Historical Trends

Whether the west coast and NW are doing “fine” or not is neither here nor there. We know their laws are, nationally, disfavored. If anything, it suggests the people against RtW laws are concentrated in places that are not Virginia, and that VA voters didn’t vote Dems into power so that they could then change this law. And not surprising, lawmakers have already rejected a bid to repeal the state’s RtW law earlier this month.

I’m not arguing for or against here, just pointing out that some progressive priorities are far more/less popular than others.

9

RTW supporters apparently forget that before unions, a “vacation” was the time between jobs, “health care” was mostly home nostrums, and job casualty rates were high. Incomes average 15% higher in states without RTW (cite) but I guess RTW folks don’t mind making less money. The less you earn, the lower your income tax, right? And poverty is good for your soul. “Blessed are the poor, for they shall not be unionized.”

Maybe the VA legislature will get around to labor rights eventually. Stay tuned.

10

Ah, the factoids for people who haven’t heard of control variables have arrived.

11

As summarized in the Wikipedia article, the economic effects are complicated, usually reduced and cherry-picked by whatever side has the stage. The fact remains that an overwhelming majority of Americans do not support making union membership, or even payment to a union, a requirement for any job.