NWI work force awaits RTW rules

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People protest the right To work bill during a rally on the steps of the Indiana Statehouse on Saturday, Jan. 28, 2012, in Indianapolis. Northwest Indiana labor leaders say there are questions about how the law applies to workers in border regions. | Fi

Updated: March 5, 2012 8:05AM

Now that Indiana is a right-to-work state, Northwest Indiana union leaders say the region’s labor market raises questions of the new law.

The region’s close proximity to Illinois means a number of Hoosiers, who now live in a right-to-work state, work across state lines in a state without the policy.

Comparatively, Illinois residents, who live in a state where unions still can require workers to pay fees for representation, may work in Indiana, where that practice now is barred.

The law took effect immediately Wednesday and affects labor contracts renewed or entered into after March 14. The Indiana Department of Labor is working to create operating rules for the new law, and that process is expected to take six months.

Indiana AFL-CIO President Nancy Guyott said the organization still is investigating how the law will affect workers living along Indiana’s borders.

“Reliving Indiana’s angst over time zone issues and daylight saving time issues, a number of regions have an intimate connection to their neighboring state in terms of work force issues,” Guyott said.

Whether the law impacts a union-represented worker may depend on the location of the work site or employer, Guyott said. How the contract is written may come into play.

“I don’t think where the worker resides is going to be the issue,” Guyott said.

Northwestern Indiana Building and Construction Trades Council Business Manager Randy Palmateer said if a worker opts out of paying dues in Indiana, but then takes work in a state without a right-to-work policy, the worker might have to be reinstated and pay back dues in some locals.

Despite the new law, Palmateer said he expects most of the union members from the locals he represents still will pay dues.

“The great thing about the union is you can go to any state and work and get the same benefits you would in Indiana as you do Illinois,” Palmateer said.

International Union of Operating Engineers Local 150, which is based out of Countryside, Ill., but has a district hall in Merrillville, is fielding questions on the legislation’s impact.

“In Northwest Indiana, you have such a dense industrial setting that so many people cross the border to work in Indiana,” Local 150 spokesman Ed Maher said. “Private-sector companies are going to be stretching workers and spending more time doing this than running other areas of their business.”