Opponents of working families and their unions have been trying to ram so-called right to work laws through state legislatures. Such laws make it illegal for a group of unionized workers to negotiate a contract that requires each employee who enjoys the benefit of the contract to pay his or her share of the costs of negotiating and policing it.

A study out today shows these laws hurt economies and don’t create jobs. The study by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) concludes:

• So-called right to work laws have not increased employment growth in the states that have adopted them.

• The case of Oklahoma, which in 2001 became the latest state to pass one of these laws, particularly underlines their failure to spur job growth. Since the law passed, manufacturing employment and relocations into the state reversed their climb and began to fall, precisely the opposite of what  advocates promised.

• These laws may actually harm a state’s economic prospects and ability to develop employment in high-tech manufacturing, the “knowledge” sector and service industries dependent on consumer spending in the local economy.

Read the full report here.