(WASHINGTON) – Just a Month After Voters Handed Republicans Control of an Unprecedented Number of State Legislative Chambers Across the Country, Party Leaders in Key States are Preparing a Raft of Proposals That Would Severely Weaken the Political Power of Labor Unions.

The Most Immediate Threat Comes From So-Called Right-to-Work (For Less) Legislation, Which Allow Employees to Opt Out of Joining a Labor Union.  States Without Right-to-Work Laws Allow Unions to Require Employees to Pay Dues Even if They Decline to Join Because Those Unions Negotiate Businesses On Behalf of All Workers.

Republicans in at Least Five States - Wisconsin, New Mexico, New Hampshire, Ohio and Missouri - Have Introduced or Plan to Introduce Versions of the Law in Legislative Sessions That Will Begin in January.  

Legislators in Colorado, Kentucky, Montana and Pennsylvania are All Likely to Push Similar Laws, Though Union-Friendly Democratic Governors in Each State Will Act as Firewalls.

Wisconsin is the Most Likely Battleground Between Business Interests and Labor Unions.  Republican State Representative Chris Kapenga said This Week he’ll Introduce a Right-to-Work Measure.  Republican Leaders Including Republican Governor Scott Walker Have said Such Legislation Isn’t a Top Priority, But Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos and Republican Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald Have Said They are Open to Bringing the Issue Up.

But There are Risks Involved, Too: The Last Time Republicans Advanced Legislation Curbing Labor Union Powers, They Were Met With Loud Protests and Recalls of Everyone From Walker to State Senators, Both Republicans and Democrats.  Walker Survived the Recall Effort.  Several State Senators Did Not.

The Power of Unions Has Waned in Recent Decades. The Number of Workers Who are Union Members Has Declined in 43 States Over the Past Decade.  Just 11% of Wage and Salary Workers Were Union Members in 2013, According to the Labor Department.

Nonetheless, Unions Remain a Potent Political Force.  While the Recall Effort Against Walker Wasn’t Successful, a 2011 Ohio Law That Would Have Limited the Collective Bargaining Rights of Public Employees Was Overturned in a Ballot Referendum Just Months After it Was Passed.  Future Attacks On Union Power Could Risk Similar Blowback.

“Any Introduction of Right-to-Work Legislation Would be a Move in the ‘Wrong Direction’ for Wisconsin and a ‘Serious Disappointment’ at a Time When Wisconsin Needs Legislators to Focus On Family-Supporting Jobs and Reviving Our Sluggish Economy,” Wisconsin AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Stephanie Bloomingdale said. “These Bills Have Proven Time and Time Again to Decrease Wages and Safety Standards in ‘All’ Workplaces.”

You Can Read the Rest of This Labor News Story at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/govbeat/wp/2014/12/03/after-republican-wins-right-to-work-bills-on-the-agenda/