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New study shows Pa. favors big labor over taxpayers
Forced unionism, unfunded pension liabilities lead to state’s dismal ranking
Pennsylvania’s existing uncompetitive, pro-organized labor policies
infringe on the rights of overburdened taxpayers, according to the findings of
the ‘Big Labor vs. Taxpayer Index’ developed
by the Competitive Enterprise Institute, which champions free enterprise,
limited government and individual liberty.
CEI’s recent
comparison of organized labor’s political reach versus the influence of
taxpayers in each state ranked Pennsylvania
46th in the nation for favoring a pro-union agenda. The index was
based upon 23 categories, ranging from collective bargaining, secret ballot
protections and open meetings laws to union density, public employee pension
underfunding, and whether strike policies exist for government workers.
Pennsylvania’s ranking among the bottom five states was punctuated
by a $113 billion pension liability, high numbers of unionized public-sector
workers (49.9 percent) versus the private sector (9.3 percent), the absence of
right-to-work laws, prevailing wage mandates for public construction projects,
and the lack of a ban on project labor agreements.
Describing the index as a vehicle for change, CEI pointed
out that “legislatures and governors face a daunting challenge in balancing the
rights of taxpayers against the demands of powerful government employee
unions.”
In addition to promoting fiscal responsibility, the PA
Chamber said necessary public policy changes highlighted by the index would
help improve the Commonwealth’s overall competitiveness.
Pennsylvania Chamber members support legislation currently
under consideration that would make Pennsylvania
a right to work state, joining 22 other states that realized a favorable impact
on both the private-sector workforce and the business community at large when
they enacted the law. While H.B.
50 would directly establish Pennsylvania
as a right to work state, supplemental bills H.B.
51, H.B.
52, and H.B.
53 would specifically protect employees from forced union membership –
public education employees, state employees and local government employees,
respectively.
Telling a Pennsylvania
Independent reporter that passage of right-to-work laws would be a
‘holy grail’ for a business community, PA Chamber Vice President Gene Barr said
of the results of the index, “We clearly need to address our very strict,
stringent and uncompetitive labor regulations.
The PA Chamber is also advocating improvements to the
state’s Prevailing
Wage Law in order to help mitigate its adverse impacts.
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Founded in 1916, the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry is the state's largest broad-based business association, with its membership comprising businesses of all sizes and across all industry sectors. The PA Chamber is The Statewide Voice of Business.
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