MADISON – Wisconsin voters overwhelmingly support Right to Work legislation by a margin of 69 percent to 26 percent, including a majority 51 percent from union households. The findings of the poll were released by WMC, the Wisconsin Chamber of Commerce.
“Voters strongly support Right to Work legislation, and they do so on a bipartisan basis,” said Scott Manley, vice president of government relations for WMC. “Sixty-nine percent of the voting public agrees that workers should have the freedom to decide whether to join a union and pay dues. Even the majority of union households agree with Right to Work.”
After being read both positive and negative statements about the issue, the statewide scientific poll of likely voters found that 51 percent of union households supported giving workers the freedom to choose whether or not to join a union, with only 40 percent of union households supporting the current law. The poll also found that 76 percent of ticket splitters support Right to Work, along with 91 percent of Republican voters. A plurality of Democrats supported the measure by a margin of 48 percent to 44 percent. Click here to read the polling memo.
Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald (R-Juneau) has said he wants the State Senate to pass Right to Work early this year. Right to Work laws prohibit the firing of workers who refuse to join a union and pay dues. Wisconsin is currently a forced unionization state, leaving workers without this protection. Wisconsin would become the 25th Right to Work state in the nation. Michigan and Indiana – our industrial Midwest competition – recently passed Right to Work laws in 2012.
The survey was conducted by the Tarrance Group, a national polling firm in Alexandria, VA. Tarrance surveyed 503 Wisconsin likely voters Dec. 9 to 11. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.5 percent.
Brian Nienaber, Tarrance Group vice president, said: “This is one of the best possible times to pursue Right to Work legislation,” noting the issue has “Broad support across the political spectrum for Right to Work legislation.”
The poll found voters will support lawmakers who vote yes on Right to Work, with 66 percent of voters saying they would be more likely to support or would be neutral on a candidate who supported the legislation. “Voter support is strong for Right to Work, and remains so even after hearing negative messages about the issue. It’s time to pass this important reform in Wisconsin,” Manley said.
Related Material:
Polling Summary
WMC Right to Work Resource Center
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