One of the tools currently getting some use in Jim Rudicil's toolbox is information gleaned from the O*Net website at www.onetcenter.org.

"It provides very accurate information about wages in every state," said Rudicil, who is leading the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers' organizing initiative in Florida. "You may have to do some searching on the site, but the information they make available can be very helpful."

The numbers are based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics using data from 2005.

For instance, the O*Net site showed that in the nation's 22 right-to-work states, it truly means right-to-work for less. Of the 17 states with the lowest median income for electricians, 15 have right-to-work laws (the exceptions were Vermont, #39, and New Mexico, #40)

In fact, only two right-to-work states, booming Nevada (#19) and Wyoming (#24), made the top half of states in the U.S. median income rankings for electricians.

Michigan electricians, both union and nonunion, were ranked #4 in median income, at $28.25 per hour. The lowest median pay for electricians were in Florida ($16.48 per hour) and North Carolina ($16.42 per hour).

Rudicil said the numbers can be used by union organizers, or by anyone who wants to make a case against Michigan becoming a right-to-work state.