Indiana House Passes RTW

(Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)Defying public opinion, the Indiana state House Wednesday passed a “right to work” (RTW) for less bill by 55-41. The bill is now on its way to the state Senate – which already passed a different version – where it’s expected to be voted on next week. Thousands of working Hoosiers have been rallying against RTW and plan to keep up the effort as Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels and his GOP statehouse colleagues continue their push to ram through the blatantly anti-union measure. Only one-third of Indiana voters favor passing the RTW law and a whopping 69 percent say that the Indiana General Assembly should slow down the process to allow more debate. Stoking fears that Indiana’s move will spark copycat efforts in other states, Michigan GOP State Rep Mike Shirkey told the New York Times “I’m disappointed that they beat us to this one,” adding that he hoped a similar measure might soon be debated in Michigan. – includes reporting by Donna Jablonski on the AFL-CIO blog; photo of protesters against RTW outside Indiana statehouse courtesy of Darron Cummings, Associated Press