In The Washington Post, Fox News contributor Charles Krauthammer admitted that right-to-work laws lead to lower wages for workers -- conflicting with the narrative promoted by Fox News that such laws increase wages.

In his column, Krauthammer claimed that recently passed right-to-work laws in Michigan were “inevitable” and that “the entire Rust Belt will eventually follow because the heyday of the sovereign private-sector union is gone.” Krauthammer wrote that such laws could possibly bring down unemployment, but he also admitted that President Obama's statement that right-to-work laws give workers “the right to work for less money” was correct:

Principle and hypocrisy aside, however, the president's statement has some validity. Let's be honest: Right-to-work laws do weaken unions. And de-unionization can lead to lower wages. [...] Obama calls this a race to the bottom. No, it's a race to a new equilibrium that tries to maintain employment levels, albeit at the price of some modest wage decline. It is a choice not to be despised. I have great admiration for the dignity and protections trade unionism has brought to American workers. I have no great desire to see the private-sector unions defenestrated.

Krauthammer is right about the wage effects of right-to-work laws. Studies have consistently found that right-to-work laws lead to lower wages and benefits for workers. The Economic Policy Institute found that right-to-work laws “are associated with significantly lower wages and reduced chances of receiving employer-sponsored health insurance and pensions.”

Krauthammer's admission conflicts with the narrative coming from his Fox News colleagues since the Michigan right-to-work legislation was passed: