Indiana moved one step closer Wednesday to becoming the 23rd Right to Work state in the U.S. The Indiana House of Representatives Wednesday afternoon passed the Right to Work bill on a 54-44 vote. After stalling the bill for several weeks, the Indiana Democrats returned to the Statehouse chamber and the bill was put to a vote.   

The Indiana Senate had previously passed an identical version of the Right to Work Act by a 28-22 vote. The House bill will now be referred to the Senate for consideration. The typical process is for the bill to be assigned to a committee where additional public input can be considered prior to a vote by the committee. The bill will then move to the the full Senate for further consideration including the opportunity to offer amendments and vote on its final passage. However, the Senate also has the option of suspending its rule and expediting the process so they can get the bill to Governor Mitch Daniels for signing.

Both the Senate and House-passed bills have effective dates of March 14, 2012 and would apply to all collective bargaining agreements signed on and after that date. Agreements in place on that date would not be abrogated by the bill. The bill prohibits  employers from entering into agreements which would require an employee to become a member of a labor organization or to pay dues, fees, assessments or other charges of any kind to a labor organization