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Expert panel to discuss Right-to-Work laws as part of “Consider It” series in Berks County

Feb 23, 2018 • by Berks County Community Foundation
Consider It

READING, PA – The next installment of Berks County Community Foundation’s “Consider It” discussion series will focus on Right-to-Work laws at a gathering in Reading on April 3.

There are 28 states with Right-to-Work laws. Most (18) Right-to-Work states passed their laws in the 1940s and 1950s. There has been a recent resurgence, with seven states adopting such laws since 2012. Right-to-work laws prohibit union security agreements between companies and workers’ unions. Under these laws, employees in unionized workplaces may not be compelled to join a union, nor compelled to pay for any part of the cost of union representation, while generally receiving the same benefits as union members who do contribute.

The Economic Policy Institute found that wages in right-to-work states are 3.2% lower than those in non-RTW states, but the W. E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research has found that studies on the effects of right-to-work laws “abound” but are not “consistent.”

With this in mind, a committee of community members has chosen Right-to-Work laws as the topic for the next installment of “Consider It.” State Sen. Judy Schwank and Berks County Commissioners Chairman Christian Leinbach are co-chairs of this nonpartisan program, which is designed to promote thoughtful discussion of divisive local and national issues while maintaining a level of civility among participants.

The next event will take place Tuesday, April 3, at 5 p.m. at the DoubleTree by Hilton Reading, 701 Penn St., Reading, Pa. Register here.

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