The Department of Planning and Budget released their Fiscal Impact Statement on what would happen if the General Assembly repealed our current Right To Work law.
You can read it in its entirety here. It is brutal.
This is a key paragraph based on the Virginia Economic Development Partnership’s (VEDP) concerns:
“VEDP is currently working on 349 potential projects in the manufacturing and supply chain sectors with more than 37,000 total jobs and more than $11 billion in capital investment.”
The paragraph continues:
“VEDP’s position is that Virginia’s competitiveness for these potential projects will be materially compromised if an outright repeal of “right to work” were to advance.”
Not that it merely says “advance .” It doesn’t even say “to be signed into law,” — just to go forward.
This public document produced by three state entities – DBP, VEDP, and DLS (Department of Legislative Services) is designed to educate our policy makers about the choice before them on Repeal of Right To Work.
For many decades, Virginia policy makers have worked together to make the right choices for governance. Essentially, how do we provide all the needs and demands of our constituents without having to increase the rates of taxation on them?
Because so many expenditures go up each year automatically, Virginia, just like other states, has to constantly grow its economy to produce replacement and new jobs.
There is no magic formula or one single, solitary choice to this. It’s more of an ethos, a custom or character of ours, if you will.
Virginia’s political leaders have worked well with the business community and across the political aisle to find the right balance.
Right To Work has been central in maintaining our balanced approach to governing and growing.
By no means are we perfect. That’s an elusive goal, but we do charge ourselves with finding only “a more perfect union.”
That is a great challenge during our historic global political realignment. Our economy is constantly changing and just about every analyst says it is being fueled by consumer spending. Consumer spending, likewise, is being fueled by cheap money and cheap energy.
37,000 jobs, 349 projects, and $11 Billion in investment “will be materially compromised” with repeal of Right To Work.
That policy is binary.
You are either forced by law to join or pay dues to a labor union as a condition of employment OR you are free not to make that choice.
Force or Freedom. Binary.
The Fiscal Impact Statement reminds us what’s a stake: Repealing Right To Work would be an unwise choice.
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