The Four Things You Should Know About Mitt Romney’s Workers’ Rights Record

by Clyde Weiss  |  October 21, 2011

Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney is getting lots of press coverage these days. But there are some things about the former Massachusetts governor’s positions on unions and workers’ rights you might not have heard.

1. He’s a big fan of Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s (R) work. Romney’s dismissive view of public service employees’ right to bargain collectively is expressed clearly in his support of Walker’s effort to strip away those exact rights earlier this year. This February, Romney’s political action committee donated $5,000 to help Walker’s campaign against workers’ unions. He also urged his supporters to back Walker’s efforts “to rein in” what he termed “out-of-control public sector pay and benefits.” AFSCME members know Romney is talking about something that simply isn’t happening.
2. He’s not into folks paying their fair share. Romney has endorsed a so-called right-to-work law at the national level, and wants it spread throughout the states. Such laws undermine union solidarity by requiring unions to represent all eligible employees, whether or not they pay dues. Unions must then use their time and their members’ dues on behalf of free riders who refuse to pay their fair share. “If a piece of right-to-work legislation reached my desk at the federal level, I’d sign it,” he said in September during a GOP Presidential forum.
3. He’s a booster for Ohio’s union-busting Gov. John Kasich (R), even if most Ohioans aren’t. Ohio’s anti-worker law, known as Senate Bill 5 and pushed by Kasich, is another Romney favorite. The law would deprive workers of their right to have a voice on the job through collective bargaining.  Although it became law in March, it was prevented from becoming effective until voters decide on Nov. 8 whether to repeal the law. More than 1 million Ohio residents signed petitions to get the bill on the ballot (where it is called “Issue 2”) for a repeal vote. The Columbus Dispatch reported that Romney posted a statement on Facebook supporting Kasich “and Ohio’s leaders as they take on this important fight to get control of government spending.” Romney might have a lot of room on Kasich’s Facebook friends list. Recent polling indicated Kasich is the most unpopular governor in the nation, with a dismal 36 percent approval rating.
4. He’s OK with breaking laws he doesn’t like. Romney wants to allow companies the freedom to ship jobs to locations where workers do not have collective bargaining rights, even if it violates federal labor law. After the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) filed a complaint in April against aerospace giant Boeing for establishing a production line for its 787 Dreamliner in South Carolina – a move seen as retaliation against its unionized workers in Washington State – Romney went on the attack. He accused Pres. Barack Obama of putting “labor stooges on the NLRB to pursue a political payback strategy.” Romney applauded the GOP-controlled U.S. House of Representatives for its vote this September to block the NLRB from ordering companies to relocate employees – even if the company (like Boeing) is found to be in violation of federal labor laws.

Read more about Romney’s views on labor in The Hill.