In a succinct statement posted to Facebook, Providence Democratic School Board Chair Nicholas Hemond announced his endorsement of Republican Ohio Governor John Kasich, writing, “John Kasich should be president of the United States.”  In an email, Hemond elaborated, saying, “I just appreciate the guy’s measured tone in a race that has been such a circus.”  Pointing to a policy of staying out of national races, Hemond clarified that he will not be taking any formal role in Kasich’s campaign.

Frequently portrayed as a member of the establishment wing of the Republican Party, Kasich is known for his fierce advocacy for restricting workers’ rights and defunding Planned Parenthood.  Kasich finished second in the New Hampshire Republican primaries.

Hemond is a controversial figure in Providence politics. Working at the Darrow Everett law firm, Hemond has emerged as the go to lobbyist for developers looking for special deals to lower their tax rates.  He recently suffered a major defeat when a tax break extension was defeated, due to pointed opposition from Council President Luís Aponte and Majority Leader Kevin Jackson, the leaders of the all-Democratic Providence City Council.  While advocating for these subsidies for big developers, Hemond opposed then-Chair Keith Oliveira’s proposal to increase the school budget, instead voting for Mayor Jorge Elorza’s lower proposal.  In January, Oliveira resigned in protest, blasting Mayor Jorge Elorza for his education policies and leadership approach.  With Elorza’s support, Hemond replaced Oliveira as Chair.

Providence is a strongly Democratic city, backing President Obama over Mitt Romney by a seventy-point margin.  Every elected official in Providence is a Democrat.  Hemond is also a registered Democrat, and he is thought to harbor ambitions of running for Mayor as a Democrat.

However, with this year’s Super Bowl being played in Indianapolis, a high-profile union in the form of the NFL Players’ Association has issued a statement weighing in on subject.

“Right-to-work is a political ploy designed to destroy basic workers’ rights. It’s not about jobs or rights, and it’s the wrong priority for Indiana.”

The statement also notes that as union members, players aren’t alone; they are joined by employees working the concession stands and everyone else that brings the games to their fans. Making note of teamwork, how right to work laws will decrease the average income of working families in Indiana by approximately $1,500 and urging Indiana legislators to reject the  measure.

Right to work states were predominantly in the South and West but as Republicans have gained control of legislatures and governors’ mansions in traditional “Rust Belt” states, there has been a steady eastward and northward drive to circumvent what was once protected under the National Labor Relations Act. The Wagner Act, as it was first known when passed in 1935, ensured protections for union organizing with union security being one of its main tenets once employees had chosen to organize.

In 1947, the Taft-Hartley Act was passed by Congress, over the veto of President Harry Truman with the president calling it a “slave labor” act. A year later, Truman campaigned against a “do nothing congress” and won re-election in a landslide. However, the act gave states the right to impose a right to work status on workers and many did just that.

Just this week, the Republican-controlled house in Indiana passed a work to right to work bill through its Employment, Labor and Pensions Committee by a vote of 8-5 in what was called a “charade” vote by state Rep. David Bartlett after a five minute hearing where no amendments were allowed and no discussion heard. Fellow Democratic state Rep. Clyde Kersey stated, “I think the light of democracy just went out in the Indiana House,” after the vote was taken. A vote to pass the measure in full can be taken as quickly as later this week.

A few things known about right to work states is that on average, workers make $5,333 less a year than in non-right to work states. Workers are still protected from paying union dues if they conflict with their beliefs and workers are better protected in states where there are protections in place for workers. The only ones benefitting from a right to work statute are employers, not workers. Employers will save money from this law, not the other way around. In states where a right to work law was enacted, such as Oklahoma, where job creation was touted, no such job creation took place and manufacturing jobs have actually been lost.

This cynical and broad-based attack on workers’ rights from Republicans and chambers’ of commerce benefits no one and in the long run will hurt the economy of Indiana as workers have less and less to spend with lower wages. Now is not the time to be decreasing the earning and spending power of the local workforces.