Donald Trump�s vice-presidential pick of Indiana Gov. Mike Pence should have workers worried.
�Mike Pence has waged repeated attacks on working Hoosiers as governor and will without a doubt continue the attacks alongside his anti-worker running mate Donald Trump who is �100 percent right to work,�� said Brett Voorhies, president of the Indiana State AFL-CIO, shortly after news of the announcement broke Friday.
Indiana became a right-to-work state under Pence�s predecessor, but Pence has worked to make sure it stays that way.
Under the law, unions cannot collect fees from non-members who take advantage of unions� grievance or bargaining services, and are essentially providing these services without compensation.
Two local judges ruled that the law violated the state�s Constitution, causing the Indiana Department of Labor to stop enforcing the law briefly. Pence defended its legality. And in 2014, Indiana�s Supreme Court upheld the state�s right-to-work law.
Pence has also taken a stand against raising the minimum wage to livable levels, opposing a bill that would have raised Indiana�s minimum wage from $7.25 to $8.25. Instead, Pence signed into law a bill prohibiting local governments from forcing businesses to raise minimum wages unless mandated by the state or federal government.
Pence also signed a law repealing Indiana�s common construction wage, leaving wages on publicly-funded construction projects at the mercy of free-market pay scales rather than in the hands of local boards composed of taxpayers or contractors.
In a further blow to workers� rights, Pence lent his support to the Trans-Pacific Partnership, saying that the deal would allow Indiana to �enjoy increased market access and fairly compete on the world stage.�
Most labor unions opposed TPP, arguing that it would allow for currency manipulation that increases America�s trade deficit and hurts manufacturing jobs.
Following news of Trump�s vice-presidential pick, Voorhies wrote that while he was relieved Pence would be out of Indiana�s governor's race, the Republican Party could not be allowed to win the presidency in November.
�Mike Pence is running away from the people of Indiana and into the arms of Donald Trump, and the pair could not be more perfect for each other,� he said. �Trump and Pence are both driven by a divisive political agenda that focuses more on ideologies than actual practical solutions to the issues plaguing working people.�