Poll shows Illinoisans support both unions and Right to Work principles

A new Paul Simon Public Policy Institute poll reveals that nearly half of Illinoisans support Right-to-Work laws – but that more education on worker freedom is needed.

A new Paul Simon Public Policy Institute poll debunks a popular perception that support for unions and support for Right to Work are mutually exclusive.

A majority of residents polled – 57.2 percent – expressed a favorable view of unions. And 48 percent also support the principles behind Right-to-Work laws.

A key takeaway from this poll is that Illinoisans support worker freedom – and that education on the issues could lead even more residents to support important labor reforms.

48 percent of respondents – including 40 percent of union households – support Right-to-Work laws, and only 24 percent oppose them

Right-to-Work laws allow workers to opt out of union membership and opt out of financially supporting the union. In sum, a worker cannot lose his or her job because he doesn’t want to pay fees to a union he does not support.

Poll respondents supported Right-to-Work by a 2-to-1 margin: 48 percent supported right-to-work, while only 24.2 percent opposed.

However, more than a quarter of respondents were unsure how to answer the question: 27.8 percent of those asked whether they favor or oppose right-to-work laws answered “other/don’t know.”

That’s a significant number of “undecideds,” which shows Illinoisans need more information on the benefits of Right-to-Work laws and other reforms that would provide more freedom to workers.

By a slim margin, more union households supported Right-to-Work laws than opposed them. The poll found that 40 percent of union households supported Right-to-Work, 38 percent opposed right-to-work, while 22 percent “didn’t know.”

50 percent of respondents thought workers should not be forced to pay union dues

In addition to the question specifically asking respondents their feelings on Right-to-Work laws, respondents were asked to pick which of the following statements comes closer to their own views:

• When everyone in the workplace shares the gains won by a labor union, all workers should have to contribute to the union’s costs for negotiating those gains, or

• No American should be required to pay dues to a private organization like a labor union against their will.

When given those two options, 50 percent of respondents stated that workers “shouldn’t be forced to pay dues.” While not specifically referencing Right-to-Work, that is exactly what this particular statement supports: the ability to maintain a job without being forced to give fees to a union a worker does not support.

On the other hand, 44.3 percent of respondents felt that everyone should pay the costs unions allegedly incur in negotiating contracts for workers.

Unfortunately, the polling only provided two choices: forced payment to a union representing a worker vs. no forced payment to a union representing a worker. It failed to give a third option: the ability of a worker to opt out of that union representation altogether.

This sort of arrangement – when an employee opts out of union membership, union dues and union representation – is known as “Worker’s Choice.” As its name indicates, Worker’s Choice allows workers a choice: become a member and accept all of the applicable union requirements (including dues), or opt out of union representation (and dues) altogether. The State could enact a law granting Worker’s Choice to public-sector employees (because private-sector unions are governed by the federal National Labor Relations Act, it would take a federal law to grant Worker’s Choice freedoms to workers in the private sector).

Importantly, Worker’s Choice represents a viable third option to the two options provided in the polling. Worker’s Choice means that any worker who does not join the union represents himself in negotiations with the employer. The union is not responsible for such workers.

Including Worker’s Choice as an option might have made a difference for those poll respondents who did not think a worker should benefit from union “gains” without contributing financially to the union.

Overall, the polling represents a hopeful outlook for the future of labor reform in Illinois. Support for unions and support for reforms are not mutually exclusive. Illinoisans lean toward reforms that will provide workers with more freedom – and that support should only increase as residents become more informed.