On Tuesday, December 1st, State Representative Tom Brinkman gave the following testimony to the Commerce & Labor Committee of the Ohio House of representatives.

Sponsor Testimony on HB 377

Good Afternoon Chairman Young, Vice-Chair Devitis and Ranking Member Lepore-Hagan. Thank you for the opportunity to speak on HB 377, the Private Sector Right-to Work bill. Simply put this bill is about making Ohio more competitive and business friendly as well as supporting personal liberty.

Our neighboring states of Michigan and Indiana have passed Right to Work and Ohio would be the 26^th state to do so, after Wisconsin in March of this year. In the global economy when companies are considering places to move or expand into; Ohio must be able to compete with Michigan, Indiana and Wisconsin for those jobs. Right to work is long overdue here in Ohio.

Beyond the economic benefit right to work would create for Ohioans; this bill presents an opportunity to expand one of America’s most fundamental and cherished principles …freedom of choice. Why should someone be forced to join a Union in order to have a job? Why should someone have their hard earned money taken and used to support issues (political or social) that they may not agree with? If this bill passes then unions will have to compete on a level playing field for membership.

I believe this bill is good for Ohio and I ask for your support. Thank you for your time today, I’d be happy to answer any questions from the Committee.

Click on the image to download the testimony