Corbett: Pa. Lacks Will To Pass 'right-to-work'

By MARC LEVY

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) ⿿ Gov. Tom Corbett said Monday that Pennsylvania apparently lacks the political will to become a "right-to-work" state, a key issue for conservatives as Republicans in fellow industrial state Michigan prepare to pass such a law over the protests of organized labor.

Corbett, a first-term Republican, has never made right-to-work legislation a priority while he battles unions on other issues. His spokesman said the governor would support such a bill if it reached his desk. Right-to-work bills languished in the GOP-controlled Legislature without even a committee vote during the recently-completed two-year session.

"There is not much of a movement to do it and lot of it has to do with the politics at the local level, at the county level and at the state level," Corbett said during a regular appearance on the Dom Giordano Program on WPHT-AM in Philadelphia. "Until I see a strong will to get legislation passed, we have a lot of other things that we have to get passed."

Right-to-work bills prohibit requirements that employees join a union or pay union dues or fees as a condition of employment. Supporters say it is an issue of freedom of association for workers and improving the business climate. Critics contend the real intent ⿿ to bleed unions of money and bargaining power ⿿ would destroy the middle class.

"It's a line in the sand we'll fight very hard on," said Rick Bloomingdale, president of the AFL-CIO labor federation in Pennsylvania.

In a speech Saturday at a Pennsylvania Manufacturers' Association breakfast in New York City, Corbett laid out his priorities for the future and did not mention right-to-work legislation. During his first two years in office, Corbett scored other victories for business advocates, including lower taxes and tightened limits on civil liability and unemployment compensation obligations.

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