U.S. Representative Foxx Celebrates Right to Work Freedom

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Madam Speaker, the what I'm about to say will surely cause a strong case of hypertension among my Democratic colleagues and their union allies. I won't hold back. Unions didn't build a middle class in America.

Entrepreneurs and hard working Americans did. Tomorrow marks the 75th anniversary of the landmark legislation that enabled states to pass right to work laws. And it is a cause for celebration since 1947.

27 states have decided to allow employees to choose for themselves whether to belong to a union or not. And what a smart decision passing right to work laws was. Madam Speaker, they give workers the freedom to make their own choice when it comes to paying union dues. With rising inflation and gas prices. Workers should not be forced to hand their hard earned paychecks over to the unions in order to keep their jobs.

Time and again, unions proved that worker representation plays second fiddle to a partisan political agenda. That comes as no surprise to anyone. For example, the AFL CIO knows financial disclosure form shows that they spent more than $37 million on political activity and lobbying while spending just 16 million to represent workers. Workers should never be forced to fund political causes they disagree with.

The truth is right to work. Laws are good for unions, too, making union membership a choice instead of a mandatory condition of employment. Improves unions by making them more responsive to worker needs. It's no secret that unions in mandatory dues state neglect the needs of workers. It isn't until unions have to fight to get and keep members that they make workers a priority.

Giving workers a choice gives workers leverage, and this can lead to more transparency and accountability. And the truth is that right to work laws are good for the economy and bolster industries. Data shows that states with right to work laws have lower unemployment and higher job and wage growth than states without such laws. Worker freedom leads to flourishing.

What the concept, Madam Speaker. One study shows that right to work states attract more manufactures and construction jobs than states with compulsory union membership. States which have enacted right to work laws in the past 22 years have a 20.7% higher manufacturing share than they would have if they did not protect worker freedom. And according to the National Right to Work Committee, factory employment rose by 150,000 in right to work state in 2021 alone.

These numbers speak for themselves. Being pro right to work means being pro-growth in the face of such overwhelming positive figures. I find it mindboggling that Democrats want to push the radical protecting the right to organize. Pro at the pro act would overturn right to work laws in 27 state and force workers to slam the wallet of union bosses pro act policies will undermine worker choice burdened employers and harm our economy for years to come.

That is why I've been working in Congress to oppose this legislation. And to hold the Biden administration accountable when it tries to push project policies by executive fiat. Madam Speaker, it's time to embrace worker freedom, a quintessential American value. And it's time to protect worker rights. I'm proud to celebrate the seventh anniversary of the right to work. Let's make every state a right to work state.

I guarantee the country would be much better off. I yield back.