Why New York Is Missing Out On America's Blue-Collar Boom

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker sparked a firestorm back in 2011 when he signed legislation that narrowed collective-bargaining rights for government workers. Now he's shaking things up again by pledging to sign into law right-to-work legislation, which would give private workers in Wisconsin the ability to opt out of a union if they choose.

New Yorkers should sit up and take notice.

The United States is undergoing a manufacturing resurgence, and the 24 states with right-to-work laws already in place are collectively generating far more of these new blue-collar industrial jobs than other states.

Meanwhile, New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, none of which allow workers to opt out of unions, all continue losing these very same jobs.

In his State of the Union Address, President Obama acknowledged manufacturing is making a comeback in America, in part because of “reshoring” — companies bringing industrial jobs back home.

Thanks partly to rising wages overseas and falling US energy costs thanks to fracking, the United States has added 660,000 manufacturing jobs since 2010, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Collectively, states with right-to-work laws are leading the way, hosting about 420,000 new industrial jobs, or about 64 percent of the total.

Among the leaders in new industrial jobs are Texas (up 72,000), Tennessee (25,000), South Carolina (24,000) and Georgia (18,500).

But the manufacturing resurgence is completely passing us by. Since 2010, New York has lost 9,600 manufacturing jobs; New Jersey, 14,000; Connecticut, another 2,700.

Others states without right-to-work are lagging, too. California, with the most US industrial jobs but no option for workers to opt out of unions, has added a mere 8,000 jobs since 2010, a gain of just 0.6 percent.

These numbers aren't surprising when you consider surveys that show that about half of all employers won't even considering locating new industrial jobs in a state unless it's right-to-work.

Of course, the union opt-out option isn't the only factor. Taxes and regulations matter, too. But most right-to-work states also are low-tax, modestly regulated states.

Two of the most recent states to adopt right-to-work, Indiana and Michigan, have jointly added 75,000 industrial jobs since they changed their labor laws. But even before adopting right-to-work, these states were working hard to become more competitive.

Michigan, for instance, passed a sweeping tax reform several years ago that eliminated the state's old business levy and replaced it with a flat corporate tax. Its business-tax climate is now rated 13th-best in the nation by the Tax Foundation.

New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, by contrast, all rank among the 10 worst states for business taxes.

These kinds of reforms are especially important in helping companies to close the cost gap between manufacturing overseas and back home — a crucial component in luring jobs back.

Union leaders argue that right-to-work laws are just a plot by their enemies to destroy labor's political power, and the media often parrot that claim. But the evidence suggests that right-to-work is one component of a program that's helping make America more competitive and providing the blue-collar jobs that people desperately seek.

But not here in New York, or New Jersey, or Connecticut.

This piece originally appeared in New York Post

This piece originally appeared in New York Post