Retired Purdue University professor Viktor Gecas knows exactly how he'd vote if the question of whether to approve Indiana's right-to-work legislation were left up to him.
"I think it's a big mistake for Indiana to even consider it," Gecas said of the legislation. "I'm not in favor of it at all."
As the Legislature inches toward approval of the controversial bill that would prohibit companies and labor unions from negotiating contracts that require nonmembers to pay union fees, Gecas and others are hoping to see voters have the final say.
State Rep. Sheila Klinker, D-Lafayette, authored a bill earlier this month calling for a statewide referendum on the issue, and last week, House Speaker Brian Bosma, R-Indianapolis, said he would allow Democrats to propose the amendment.
The Indiana House will debate that and other amendments to the legislation today.
The amendment would put the issue before voters for a yes-no vote during November's election. But even if the measure made it to the ballot next fall, Klinker says it would be a tough fight.
"I think it would be close," she said. "It would not only depend on understanding what right-to-work really means, but how the question is asked."
West Lafayette's Randy Studt would like to have the chance to vote on the issue, but believes that the referendum would lead to more money being spent as both sides try to educate -- or convince -- voters.
"I don't have a problem with it going to referendum if that would slow it down, but I also know that millions of dollars will be spent on television ads," he said. "It will just be a big huge campaign again, and I'm not sure that it will clarify anything. But it may give people the chance to have the information"
"Most people don't know what it is, and nobody's clamoring for it ... Maybe we need to slow down and think about it."
Keith Williams said he, for one, would like to know more about the issue other than what he sees on advertisements.
"I read a little bit about it, but sadly only in the newspapers," said Lafayette's Keith Williams. "But I would absolutely love the chance to vote on it. It's seems they're all ramming their opinions down our throats."
In 2011 Ball State University's Bowen Center for Public Affairs surveyed more than 600 Hoosiers and asked them about right to work. The findings showed that 48 percent said they were undecided or did not have an opinion on the issue. Of the rest, 27 percent supported it while 24 percent opposed the legislation.
"Clearly, neither side on this issue has yet to close the sale," the survey authors wrote.
Jeff Wieland of Battle Ground said he has taken the time to look at the wage differences between workers in right-to-work states compared to those in non-right-to-work states. He not every voter is interested in the legislation or equipped to make an informed choice, he said. Putting it on the 2012 ballot would give people time and incentive to study the issue.
"I would hope that we would be ready by then," he said. "It would be on the November 2012 ballot, so we've got about 10 months to really work on the education."
In 2010 -- the most recent year of data available -- 279,000 Hoosiers belonged to unions, or 10.9 percent of Indiana's wage and salary workers, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Sen. Brandt Hershman, R-Buck Creek, supports right to work legislation but said he and fellow lawmakers have been trying to ensure all voices, including those of organized labor, are heard.
"I respect their concerns," Hershman said. "The fact of the matter is I've been meeting with people all along. Give me a call. Send me an email. Sometimes it's hard to fit them in, but I certainly try to do so."
Eric Clawson, president of Tippecanoe Building and Construction Trades Council, said the bill will affect more than just union members.
"It's going to affect every person out there, union and non-union," Clawson said.
Contributing: Eric Weddle/eweddle@jconline.com
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