The failed experiment of “right to work”

The So-called “right to work” law was sold in 2012 as a way to make sure that anyone could work anywhere, without being forced into a union. This was supposed to make it better for Hoosier workers.

What it actually did was take a baseball bat to the kneecaps of our unions, by passing all of the rewards of a collective bargaining agreement onto a shop, without passing on all of the risk of bargaining collectively. Right to work did more damage to Indiana’s union participation rate than the ’08 financial crisis.

Let’s be clear: unions made the American middle class. Unions gave us most of the protections we take for granted – 40 hour work week as the standard; OSHA; FMLA; Workers’ Comp, just to name a few.

We’ve had two local union strikes for recognition just since fall of 2025 – where workers negotiate with their employer and vote whether or not to unionize, and the employer does not acknowledge their collective bargaining rights. The dealers at Horseshoe Casino faced backroom dealings by the city council and mayor along with frigid temperatures in their 50-day strike, and the workers at a foundry in Lawrenceburg started their strike just as temperatures are starting to climb for the summer.

A new jobs corps to bring work in-house

The concept of a jobs corps – a training program where young adults are provided room and board, as well as training in exchange for labor – is not a new one. The Federal Jobs Corps dates back over 50 years, and before that, the Civilian Conservation Corps led the nation out of the Great Depression and built the national parks into the treasures they are.

Currently the state bids most road work out for contracts. This system lets private corporations take profits from state funds – funds that should be used for public benefit, not private gain. We need to bring construction crews back to the INDOT, and provide jobs directly from the state. We all know that corporations exist to make profit – and if roads don’t need constant repairs, they can’t make constant profit. When we stop paying for corporate greed, we can put all of our tax dollars toward the project and the workers.

With a mandate from the people, a public works program will provide the public with roads and paychecks that will last longer.