Right-wing Mobilization and Right to Work Laws: A Dynamic Approach to Right-wing Successes and Failures

• In Event: 261 - Section on Political Sociology Refereed Roundtable Session and Business Meeting
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: Table 08. Determinants of Congressional Voting and Legislation

Abstract

The Supreme Court of the United States recently began hearing on Friedrichs v. California, a case that will determine a union’s right to collect agency fees of non-union member public sector employees. If this case passes, it could extend Right to Work legislation to the 25 remaining states still without such laws. This case can be considered a culmination in a recent movement of elites across the United States to get anti-labor laws passed. Right-wing groups like Americans for Prosperity and Center for Individual Rights have led and supported Right to Work campaigns across the United States. These groups fall within a larger network of groups funded by Koch Brothers and have empirical connections to wide range of important political players, including media groups and politicians (ex. Scott Walker).
When does right-wing collective action succeed in passing legislation and when does it fail? There is a lack of research on elite mobilization success and failures. Furthermore, there are few studies on Right to Work adoption that have focused on right-wing mobilization. My research fills this gap in the literature by applying a dynamics of contention approach to right-wing mobilization successes and failures. Research compares cases in which states considered adopting Right to Work and looks as possible explanatory effects of right-wing mobilization in multiple arenas including the media, state government, union strength, and the presence of supporting movements such as the Tea Party. This research attempts to apply social movement theories of mobilization to right-wing collective action.

Author

• Kadie Manion