South Bend Mayor and Presidential Candidate Pete Buttigieg unveiled his economic plan last week pushing to increase the minimum wage and expand unions. Reaction to Buttigieg’s plan is mixed.
Indiana has been a Right-to-Work state since 2012 when then-Governor Mitch Daniels signed a bill into law preventing individuals from being forced to join a union.
Buttigieg’s economic plan outlines the need for states to be able to grow unions and argues Right-to-Work policies hinder that growth.
Indiana State AFL-CIO union President Brett Voorhies supports the rollback of Right-to-Work laws. He says unions help protect workers from exploitation.
“It is important for any of the candidates, whether it be Mayor Pete or any of the other ones, to support you know organizing; organizing without interference. It should be a right. It’s a human right to organize a union,” Voorhies says.
The Indiana Chamber of Commerce opposes Buttigieg’s proposal. President Kevin Brinegar says the Right-to-Work policy has helped Indiana attract new companies to the state.
