TFTN: Mixed Report On Right To Work

But what’s been the economic impact of 25 years of Right to Work? Depends on whom you ask. For starters, union membership has shrunk from 12 percent of the Idaho workforce in 1985 to 6 percent today. Partly as a consequence, Idaho wages have declined from 84 percent of the national average in 1985 to 75 percent before the beginning of the Great Recession. But it would be naïve to suggest that Right to Work wasn’t a major factor in Idaho’s explosive job growth from 1986 through 2008. Start-ups, small businesses and tech — enterprises that sort badly with union rules — thrived. Equally important, Right to Work served to stabilize the labor market. And companies like Dell simply wouldn’t have come to Idaho if they had to deal with union shops/ Twin Falls Times-News . More here . (Dennis Mansfield’s analysis of Right to Work impact here .)

Question: Has Idaho’s Right To Work law helped or hurt Idaho in the 25 years it has been in force?