By GARRY RAYNO, InDepthNH.org

CONCORD — Down party lines, the House Labor, Industrial and Rehabilitative Services voted 10-9 to recommend the House pass right-to-work legislation Tuesday.

After a five-hour public hearing with the vast majority opposed to the bill that has been before the legislature many times only to fail, the committee Republicans all favored the bill and the Democrats all opposed it.

“This is about whether or not people share in (their) responsibility,” said Rep. Mark MacKenzie, D-Manchester. “It’s the fair and equitable thing to do.”

But Rep. Brian Labrie, R-Bedford, said they all heard the union members “singing their tales of woe, but what about the silent majority . . . (the small business owners who are the backbone of the (state’s) economy.”
House Bill 238, which would make New Hampshire the 27th right-to-work state in the country and the only one in the Northeast north of West Virginia, drew an overflow crowd last week as union members and officials, business organizations, faith groups and other advocates turned out to oppose it, and greatly outnumbered those testifying in favor of the bill.

Under the bill, workers in union shops would not be required to join a union or be forced to pay dues or agency fees for the cost of negotiating and administering a collective bargaining contract.

At the executive session Tuesday MacKenzie said no one is required to join a union to keep their job, having to be a union member is not a condition of employment, and no one can be fired for refusing to be a union member. “That’s the law.”
The issue is whether someone who benefits from the contract negotiated by the union, should have to pay agency fees to cover the cost of negotiations and administering the contract for the private sector, he noted.

“The labor movement is a major contributor to the economy of New Hampshire, and what you are doing here is injecting government into relationships that have been built over many years,” MacKenzie said. “You’re taking away the rights of people who have shared costs and responsibilities, and people who have all the benefits and the advantages a labor union offers, but not pay a single dime.”

Labrie said there are businesses where the owner knows every employee, are perfectly capable of managing their own businesses and don’t need unions to “highjack” their labor relations.

“I know the lure of union stability is undeniable,” he said, “but saying if you don’t grab the pot of gold the owner will, is disrespectful of the business owners of New Hampshire.”

He said as a small business owner he finds their absence from the discourse highly disrespectful. “Capitalism is not the enemy,” Labrie said.

Rep. Donald Bouchard, D-Manchester, said the bill undermines the rights of workers and threatens the wellbeing of the state’s economy.

“This will lead to lower wages, diminished benefits and workplace safety, not just for union members but for all workers,” Bouchard said. “This is driven by out-of-state interests and does not reflect the situation here in New Hampshire.”
Other representatives noted most union members are happy with the benefits they receive from their unions and the number who do not want to pay the fees is a very small number in the state

But Rep. Michael Granger, R-Milton Mills, said, “I don’t  care how good a deal it is, I want the right to say ‘No’ and that is what this legislation is about, the right to say ‘No.’”

During the public hearing it was noted that union representation is only in 9 percent in private business in the state. 

The opponents said the bill is a veiled attempt to break labor unions and tilt the scale in favor of employers to reduce wages and benefits for workers in a race to the bottom.

But supporters argued right-to-work states have lower unemployment, greater job and economic growth and acknowledge the rights of workers not to pay dues or fees. They claimed right-to-work would make unions more responsive and representative of their members, who would have greater influence.

Although many of those contentions were challenged by opponents, the supporters maintained businesses are lined up waiting to come to the state if the bill passes.

The bill is likely to be on the House floor next week when the House meets Thursday.

Garry Rayno may be reached at garry.rayno@yahoo.com.