Mark Mix, President of the National Right to Work Committee, is warning that Virginia’s job growth and worker freedom will be significantly harmed if Democrat Abigail Spanberger wins the gubernatorial election.
On Wednesday’s edition of The John Fredericks Show, Mix argued that Virginia’s Right-to-Work law will be a decisive issue in the 2025 gubernatorial election, emphasizing how the future of Virginia’s business-friendly reputation is at stake.
Mix criticized Spanberger for her repeated votes in Congress to eliminate right-to-work protections nationally. Mix explained that those policies, if enacted in Virginia, would force workers to pay union dues as a condition of employment.
He warned that despite vague language about “reform,” Spanberger’s track record shows she’s committed to repealing right-to-work in Virginia, a move Mix argues would have disastrous consequences for both workers and the economy.
“Abigail Spanberger has the responsibility to tell the people of Virginia what she would do on an issue like right-to-work. She said it may need reform, but reforming a bill and a policy that says you either pay dues to keep your job or you don’t, is kind of a binary choice. You either are for it or you’re against it. And Abigail Spanberger’s record on this is that she voted twice to repeal Virginia’s Right to Work law as a member of Congress, along with other things that would dramatically empower union officials over workers in the Commonwealth,” Mix explained.
“This is about forced unionism. Spanberger is…committed to saying if you’re a Virginia worker and you have a union, you’ll have to pay that union in order to keep your job,” Mix said.
Mix went on to explain how right-to-work laws have been foundational to Virginia’s economic success, helping attract businesses and create jobs by protecting workers’ freedom to choose whether to join or fund a union.
Noting how national data shows private-sector and manufacturing job growth is far stronger in right-to-work states than in forced-unionism states, Mix warned that if the law were to be repealed, decades of growth would be reversed and workers would be punished by having their choice be stripped and wages decreased.
“If you look at the numbers, private sector job growth and right-to-work states double [in businesses looking to relocate, expand or invest money in a new location]. In forced union states, manufacturing jobs that are supposedly the high paying jobs that everyone wants in their state are 10 times less the growth in right to work states,” Mix said.
“The economic story is really clear and the individual freedom story is even clearer when it comes to forcing employees to pay dues in order to work for some company. That’s wrong. It’s wrong everywhere, and it’ll be wrong in Virginia,” he added.
Mix concluded by framing the race as a clear-cut decision between Winsome Earle-Sears, who supports preserving right-to-work, while Spanberger has proven she would end it.
He argued that the issue is not just about economics but individual rights, including freedom of association and political expression.
“For Virginians, if you believe in your ability to join or pay dues to a union as your choice, not someone else’s, then the issue couldn’t be clearer for you. It’s important to get out and let your voice be heard in this regard,” Mix stressed.
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Virginia Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
Photo “Abigail Spanberger” by Abigail Spanberger.
