Just prior to noon Wednesday, the Indiana Senate passed House Bill 1001 on a 28-22 vote. Gov. Mitch Daniels signed the enrolled bill a few hours later. While the law does not change contracts currently in force, workers in Indiana will no longer have to pay union dues or agency fees as a term of employment when new union contracts are signed.

If the past is any guide, the law should be a boon to Indiana's economy and a tremendous benefit to Indiana's workers. Right-to-work laws are associated with faster economic growth, job creation and rising wages.

The law empowers workers and makes unions more accountable to the members they represent. We have every reason to believe that the working men and women of Indiana will use their new prerogatives wisely, that unions will adapt and survive, and that the great majority of Hoosiers will benefit.

We are confident that as Michiganders see what right-to-work protections bring to Indiana, support for labor freedom will expand here. Michigan may become the 24th right-to-work state, perhaps as early as the end of this year.

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