Three additional points are noteworthy. First, unions collect dues, fees, fines, assessments, and per capita taxes from all the employees whom they represent in states without Right to Work laws where financial support of the union is a condition of employment. 11 Payments to the union further reduce the incomes of families in forced-unionism states relative to their counterparts in Right to Work states who choose not to join the union. Second, the gap in living standards revealed by this most recent edition of Places Rated Almanac is by no means new. Similar studies using earlier editions of this publication were conducted for both 1993 and 1987.
Economic growth is vital to prosperity, for it creates new jobs and rising incomes.
Clearly, an individual is economically better off living in an area experiencing economic expansion and vitality than in an area experiencing decline. In this regard, there are marked differences between Right to Work and forced-unionism states in terms of economic opportunity. Savageau and D'Agostino offer some interesting evidence to support this contention that economic opportunity is greater in SMSAs in Right to Work states than in forced-unionism states. The average rate of job growth in the 134 SMSAs in Right to Work states is 7.0 percent, while the average rate in the 188 SMSAs in forced-unionism states is only 5.3 percent, a dramatic difference. In terms of the number of jobs created in SMSAs in Right to Work states versus forced-unionism to work states, consider the following.