Cutler, Grossman ask lawmakers to vote against right-to-work

INDIANAPOLIS | A current and a former Chicago Bears quarterback have written Indiana lawmakers urging them to reject a right-to-work law.

Indiana natives Jay Cutler and Rex Grossman said in separate letters that the push for right-to-work is unnecessarily dividing Hoosiers when the state should be united ahead of next month's Indianapolis Super Bowl.

"This Super Bowl should be about celebrating the best of what Indianapolis has to offer, not about legislation that hurts the people of Indiana," they said.

Cutler and Grossman, both NFL union members, said studies on right-to-work show the labor policy reduces wages for all workers — union and non-union — by $1,500 a year.

"It weakens the ability of working families to work together and it will make it less likely that working people will get health care and pensions," they said.

Under a right-to-work law, state government prohibits a business and a union from requiring nonunion employees pay fees for union services they receive. Right-to-work does not guarantee anyone a job.

The Indiana House could vote on its right-to-work proposal, House Bill 1001, as soon as Wednesday.