Changes

The Louisiana legislature passed a [[Right-to-work laws|right-to-work law]] in the 1952 session at the urging of then Governor [[Robert F. Kennon]]. Gardner was a freshman member of the Louisiana House at the time and voted for right-to-work. In 1956, however, when Gardner was mayor, the legislature repealed the law at the urging of Governor Earl Long. Organized labor took the leading role in the repeal, a reflection of Bussie's growing influence in state politics. Indeed, Louisiana was clearly the most unionized state in the [[American South]].<ref>''Jim Gardner and Shreveport,'' Vol. I, pp. 353–354.</ref> Bussie found that rural state legislators wanted farmers excluded from the repeal of right-to-work. Therefore, he endorsed one bill to repeal right-to-work and another to restore right-to-work for farmers. "We became the first and only state labor organization in the nation ever to sponsor a right-to-work law," Bussie said.<ref name=stimes/> The maneuvering caught the eye of former [[First Lady]] [[Eleanor Roosevelt]], who penned an editorial saying that Bussie should be expelled from the union for sponsoring the restoration of right-to-work for farmers.<ref name=stimes/>​

The Louisiana legislature passed a [[Right-to-work laws|right-to-work law]] in the 1952 session at the urging of then Governor [[Robert F. Kennon]]. Gardner was a freshman member of the Louisiana House at the time and voted for right-to-work. In 1956, however, when Gardner was mayor, the legislature repealed the law at the urging of Governor Earl Long. Organized labor took the leading role in the repeal, a reflection of Bussie's growing influence in state politics. Indeed, Louisiana was clearly the most unionized state in the [[American South]].<ref>''Jim Gardner and Shreveport,'' Vol. I, pp. 353–354.</ref> Bussie found that rural state legislators wanted farmers excluded from the repeal of right-to-work. Therefore, he endorsed one bill to repeal right-to-work and another to restore right-to-work for farmers. "We became the first and only state labor organization in the nation ever to sponsor a right-to-work law," Bussie said.<ref name=stimes/> The maneuvering caught the eye of former [[First Lady]] [[Eleanor Roosevelt]], who penned an editorial saying that Bussie should be expelled from the union for sponsoring the restoration of right-to-work for farmers.<ref name=stimes/>​

In the 1976 legislative session, right-to-work was again passed by a nearly all Democratic body, a reflection of the growing presence of LABI, which sought to reverse what it claimed had been "[[socialism]]" in the heyday of Bussie's influence.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://centrallapolitics.blogspot.com/2007/09/labi-says-that-cheap-labor-and-low-rent.html|title=Central La. Politics: LABI Says That Cheap Labor And Low Rent Shacks Are Louisiana's Economic Development Selling Points?|publisher=Centrallapolitics|date=September 2007; no longer on-line.}}</ref> Bussie convinced state Senator Gaston Gerald of East Baton Rouge Parish, the chairman of the Senate Labor and Industrial Relations Committee, to work against right-to-work. Gerald hence proposed a state constitutional amendment on the issue, which would have raised the legislative bar for passage and required voter approval.<ref>"Bussie maneuvering work bill's death," ''Minden Press-Herald,'' June 14, 1976, p. 1.</ref>

In the 1976 legislative session, right-to-work was again passed by a nearly all Democratic body, a reflection of the growing presence of LABI, which sought to reverse what it claimed had been "[[socialism]]" in the heyday of Bussie's influence.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://centrallapolitics.blogspot.com/2007/09/labi-says-that-cheap-labor-and-low-rent.html|title=Central La. Politics: LABI Says That Cheap Labor And Low Rent Shacks Are Louisiana's Economic Development Selling Points?|publisher=Centrallapolitics|date=September 2007; no longer on-line.}}</ref> Bussie convinced state Senator [[Gaston Gerald]] of Greenwell Springs in East Baton Rouge Parish, the chairman of the Senate Labor and Industrial Relations Committee, to work against right-to-work. Gerald hence proposed a state constitutional amendment on the issue, which would have raised the legislative bar for passage and required voter approval.<ref>"Bussie maneuvering work bill's death," ''Minden Press-Herald,'' June 14, 1976, p. 1.</ref>

Still Bussie thereafter never wavered in his call to repeal the Louisiana right-to-work law, which he called "right-to-work-for-less." Supporters of the measure, however, insist that it merely protects employees' freedom to refuse to pay compulsory "fees" to a union which they do not wish to join. Twenty-one other states, including all southern states, have such laws.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0019-7939(199001)43%3A2%3C258%3AGPUBAL%3E2.0.CO%3B2-E|title=Gumbo Politics: Unions, Business and Louisiana Right-to-Work Legislation|author=William Canak and Berkeley Miller|publisher=Sage Publications in jstor.org|date=January 1990|pages 258-271|accessdate=August 22, 2019}}</ref>​

Still Bussie thereafter never wavered in his call to repeal the Louisiana right-to-work law, which he called "right-to-work-for-less." Supporters of the measure, however, insist that it merely protects employees' freedom to refuse to pay compulsory "fees" to a union which they do not wish to join. Twenty-one other states, including all southern states, have such laws.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0019-7939(199001)43%3A2%3C258%3AGPUBAL%3E2.0.CO%3B2-E|title=Gumbo Politics: Unions, Business and Louisiana Right-to-Work Legislation|author=William Canak and Berkeley Miller|publisher=Sage Publications in jstor.org|date=January 1990|pages 258-271|accessdate=August 22, 2019}}</ref>​