With union membership at its lowest level in decades, unions are gearing up to organize workers in right-to-work states, such as Arizona, where unions want to organize state government employees, grocery store workers, health care workers, and iron workers among various others. Unions are also promoting a minimum wage law that will be the subject of a public referendum on November 7.
The unions that are spear heading this movement are the AFL-CIO, the Service Employees International Union, and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.
Arizona has a Democratic governor who is pro union, but the state has a Republican legislature that will vote against union inspired measures. While the unions want a collective bargaining agreement set in law, it is unlikely that the legislature will go along with it.
For nearly 60 years, Arizona has not been a place that was hospitable to unions, yet the unions feel that the large number of immigrant service workers in the state will give them an opportunity to recruit new members. No longer are immigrants looked upon as a threat to other low-paid workers, rather they are seen as providing the large numbers of votes that can influence law makers.
What is happening in Arizona is germinating in other right-to-work states. Corporate America cannot waste time. It must create workplace environments that promote pro-management viewpoints so that workers do not feel compelled to join unions.
