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Welcome to the live chat for the Changing Gears call-in special, “Hard Labor.” You can hear the show starting at 2 pm ET/1 pm CT at Michigan Radio, WBEZ Chicago and Ideastream Cleveland as well as Wisconsin Public Radio‘s IdeasNetwork. Members of the Changing Gears team also are here to answer your questions.

Union employees are under fire in states like Wisconsin and Ohio, where some lawmakers are saying it’s time to do away with collective bargaining. Some business community members also think unions are keeping those states from being competitive. But union members say they’ve fought long and hard for their bargaining rights, and intend to hold on to them.

And then there’s the issue of Right to Work laws. Should Midwestern states embrace what’s long been a staple of the South? Changing Gears’ Kate Davidson took a look at that this week.

Now, we want to hear from you. TODAY at 2 pm ET/1 pm CT, Changing Gears presents “Hard Labor” a look at the contentious issues in the debate of union rights.

Tune in to Changing Gears stations WBEZ in Chicago, Michigan Radio and ideastream Cleveland. WPR, Wisconsin Public Radio’s Ideas Network, also is carrying the broadcast.

Steve Edwards of WBEZ will host, and Changing Gears senior editor Micki Maynard will be in the studio. Guests will include several experts on unions and Right to Work, including:

Gary Chaison – Professor of Industrial Relations at Clark University

Kate Bronfenbrenner – Director of Labor Education Research at Cornell University

Ed Buker – Former CEO of Tecumseh Products

JoAnn Johntony – President of the Ohio Association of Public School Employees

You can also join us on our LIVE WEB CHAT here at ChangingGears.info to talk with our team. We want to hear from you. Call (888) 968-7677 and join us here.

 

 

Posted in BizTechCivic AffairsEntrepreneurialismSarah Valek

Cleveland has its own distinct brand… we’re rough-and-tough, gritty, real — and we need to embrace it. Fully. Check out Richey Piiparinen’s feature in RustWire.com: “Glitz Wrestles with Authenticity in Clevelandtown,” an article about embracing our true selves, not trying to be like South Beach, NYC or any other city. From the article: Cleveland—it is a lot. [...]

ANN ARBOR — The labor battle seizing the Midwest right now is focused on the collective bargaining rights of public sector employees. But the fight over breaking these unions may have cracked open another door: the one labeled “right-to-work.”

So, let’s recap some of the big labor news that’s unfolded in recent weeks. Thousands of protestors flooded the capitals of Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, and, of course, Wisconsin.

Also – and this didn’t make headlines — In Grand Rapids, Jared Rodriguez began moving into a new office.

“In fact, I was unpacking boxes when you called,” he said.

On his cell phone — no landline yet. That’s because Rodriguez is president of a brand new group called the West Michigan Policy Forum.

“[Right-to-work is] not the only thing that’s going to bring companies here, but it could be the single most important change that Michigan makes,” he said.

In fact, the West Michigan Policy Forum has marching orders from its supporters to turn Michigan into a right-to-work state. It’s a priority the local business community basically voted on in 2008. That’s when 600 business and civic leaders as well as community advocates came up with an agenda. Their first directive: Repeal the Michigan Business Tax. Their second: Establish a right-to-work status for the state.

“Where are companies choosing to locate and why is Michigan losing out?” Rodriguez asked. “It’s not just taxes, it’s not just our weather. There are some other reasons and one of those reasons being a hostile labor environment.”

Now in this region, the cradle of unionization, those are tough words. So what exactly is this so-called “right-to-work”?

“The labor folks would say, by the way, right-to-work, versus right-to-work for less,” said Mike Smith, a labor historian at the Walter P. Reuther Library at Wayne State University in Detroit.

So say you’re in Michigan or Illinois or Ohio and you get a job in a place that’s unionized.

“You must join that union,” said Smith. “You must pay dues …. In a right-to-work state, you do not have to join, even if a union’s in place, you do not have to pay dues.”

Unions argue that when workers don’t pay dues, they still benefit from the gains of collective bargaining, while weakening unions themselves.

Proponents argue that right-to-work laws spur job growth. And the right-to-work South certainly got a lot of big plants from foreign car companies.

But in a new paper from the Economic Policy Institute, a liberal-leaning think tank, Gordon Lafer says the evidence doesn’t back up the job growth claims. The paper’s authors also warn that it’s difficult to isolate the impact of a single policy like right-to-work from the slew of other factors that contribute to a state’s business climate, including tax policies, transportation infrastructure, the cost of real estate, and the educational level of the workforce.

Gordon Lafer adds that the next state to adopt right-to-work laws will do so in the era of globalization, when everything’s up for grabs. Most of the 22 right-to-work states passed their legislation decades ago.

“In 2011, manufacturers who are looking for lower wages are going to China or Mexico, they’re not going to South Carolina or Arizona,” he said.

That hasn’t stopped Michigan state senator John Proos, a Republican. He’s introduced a bill that would allow municipalities to create right-to-work zones. He says think of it as a pilot project.

“If in fact it is proven that it did nothing to increase our job capacity, it did nothing to increase our competitiveness, then we can answer that question once and for all and assign that one to a good idea that we tried it that didn’t work,” he said.

Michigan’s Republican governor Rick Snyder has said that he intends to work with unions. And in Indiana, Republican governor Mitch Daniels asked that a controversial right-to-work bill be set aside for further study. Some Democratic lawmakers actually fled that state to avoid voting on it.

Still, Mark Gaffney, president of Michigan’s AFL-CIO, says the right-to-work door has opened in the Midwest. To him, it’s a purely political conservative movement.

“They well understand that unions and our allies in the Democratic party are their political opponents, and the only thing standing in their way of basically one party rule that benefits the wealthy, benefits corporations, to the detriment of the middle class.”

So is right-to-work imminent in the Midwest? No. But will Jared Rodriguez install a landline so he can lobby Michigan lawmakers for its passage? The answer is a definite yes.

Posted in BizTechCivic AffairsCommentaryEntrepreneurialismNewsPoliticsPreviewThomas MulreadyWorkshop

Challenging JumpStart   Come to the public forum on Mon 3/21 to hear why some area entrepreneurs are not as enthralled as the POTUS with the efficiency of our region’s entrepreneurial continuum.   Recently, President Barack Obama visited Northeast Ohio, praising groups such as JumpStart and NorTech, while area tech entrepreneurs, who should be benefitting from these programs, have [...]

Posted in BizTechDrinksEventsFreeSarah ValekScience

[ March 14, 2011; 8:00 am; ] Mon 3/14 @ 7PM Drink up, sit back and learn about your brain & the importance of memory at the next Science Cafe Cleveland on Mon 3/14 featuring Alan Lerner, MD, Professor of Neurology at C.W.R.U. and Wojbor Woyczynski, PhD, Professor of Statistics at C.W.R.U. Details: Daily functioning, and indeed, our personal identity, is critically dependent on [...]

The Great Lakes have always been a union strong hold. But as Southern states have attracted investments, and labor union membership has dwindled, a question is being asked across our region: should we consider Right to Work laws as a tool in our reinvention?

Take our poll. We’ll give you the results on Tuesday during Hard Labor, our Changing Gears live call-in special.

Posted in BizTechEventsOutdoorsSarah ValekScience

[ March 10, 2011; 7:00 am; ] Thu 3/10 @ 8PM What's out there? Do we know anything about distant galaxies? Join Dr. Elizabeth J. (Betsy) Barton, University of California, Irvine, for "The Search for the Most Distant Galaxies and the End of the Cosmic Dark Ages" discussion @ the Planetarium at CMNH. The scoop: The ongoing search for the end of the cosmic dark [...]

Posted in BizTechDrinksEntrepreneurialismEventsSarah Valek

[ March 10, 2011; 5:00 am; ] Thu 3/10 @ 6PM Hey you... Are you a young professional working in any facet of marketing communications? Network w/ other NEO communicators @ COMM-Unity 2011 presented by NOCA in conjunction with the Young Professionals of PRSA, AAF/Cleveland's 32 Below and IABC. Admission includes free headshot & heavy appetizers. Network, collaborate & dialogue with fellow Mar/COMM [...]

Posted in BizTechEntrepreneurialismNewsPreviewShopLOCALThomas MulreadyVideoWorkshop

VIDEO: Entrepreneur Experience Immerse Yourself in Knowledge Victor Pavona knows a thing or two about entrepreneurship. He heads up the Ohio Small Business Development Center in Stark County, and is hosting the 2nd annual Stark County Entrepreneur Experience, Tue 3/22 thru Tue 4/19. Watch this video to learn more about sessions such as “Entrepreneurial Conspiracy,” [...]