Right to Work in New England

Once again, the Wall Street Journal makes an eloquent case in support of the Right to Work -- this time imploring legislators in New Hampshire to override a veto to become the first Right to Work state in New England: Twenty-two states have right-to-work laws, most of them in the faster-growing South and West. The big news is that New Hampshire is edging closer to becoming the 23rd, which would make it the first new right-to-work state since Oklahoma in 2001 and could lead to a regional revolution. The state House and Senate in Concord have passed a right-to-work statute, but Governor John Lynch, a Democrat, vetoed the bill. On May 25 the legislature will attempt to override that veto, and House Speaker Bill O'Brien says he is "cautiously optimistic" that he can gain the two-thirds majority to do so. This would be a landmark victory for the right-to-work movement. All other Northeastern states operate under forced-union rules, so the Granite State would gain a decisive competitive advantage over its neighbors in attracting investment and jobs. "Passing right to work on top of not having an income tax could make us the Hong Kong of the region," Mr. O'Brien says. The precedent would put enormous pressure on Maine and Massachusetts to follow. We assume Vermont is hopeless and prefers to be a tourist and natural history museum. Right-to-work laws don't outlaw unions. They simply allow each individual worker to decide whether or not to join the union. In compulsory-union states, workers employed in unionized workplaces are required to have union dues withheld from their paychecks as a condition of employment, so there's big money at stake here for unions.
Right To Work = Jobs

Right To Work = Jobs

BMW plans to expand in Right To Work state of South Carolina As politicians are seeking jobs through stimulus programs, spending sprees, welfare, food stamp programs and bureaucratic mandates, many ignore the upshot enactment of a Right to Work law can have on job creation for fear of angering their big labor benefactors. But the evidence continues to compound that giving workers a choice in joining a union is not only a civil rights issue but an economic growth issue. The Washington Examiner gets it: "Danaher’s closing,” said Rep. Richard Neal, D-Mass., lamenting the loss of a plant that had employed 330 people in his state. “Now those jobs are going to Arkansas and to Texas.” It was April 2005. Neal was taking the opportunity during a House committee hearing on competition with China to complain instead about how Massachusetts was losing jobs to states with less-hostile business climates. The Ways and Means Committee chairman in 2005, California Republican Bill Thomas, mildly rebuked Neal’s deviation from the topic, saying Massachusetts had shot itself in the foot with high taxes and compulsory union membership. “At some point perhaps the good citizens of Massachusetts will pick up the drift,” Thomas said.

Right to Work States Bullied by BHO Administration

Arizona is a state that has been bullied by the Administration on issues like immigration so its significant that the Arizona Republic would recognize the latest form of big government interference with our states -- the National Labor Relations Board's attempt to prohibit companies from moving from high cost Big labor controlled states to lower cost Right to Work states: If the people at Arizona's aggressive, new Commerce Authority think it is tough slugging it out with other states for high-paying jobs, a new, even tougher opponent now is toeing the line. How about fighting the feds over jobs? The National Labor Relations Board is making it clear to right-to-work states like Arizona that it does not favor companies moving manufacturing operations out of closed-shop union states. Now dominated by President Barack Obama's union-friendly appointees, the NLRB has filed a complaint against Boeing, which is about to open a new manufacturing facility for its 787 Dreamliner passenger aircraft in South Carolina, a right-to-work state. The agency contends it should build the planes in Washington state, where it already operates a unionized Dreamliner-manufacturing plant. The NLRB complaint argues that Boeing moved to South Carolina to retaliate against unionized workers in Washington who frequently have gone out on strike in recent years. Boeing already has hired 1,000 workers for the nearly completed facility in North Charleston, S.C. Mind you, Boeing hasn't closed any of its Washington operations. In fact, it has hired 2,000 additional workers there since its decision to build the second plant in South Carolina. But the Obama NLRB has become so aggressively proactive on behalf of union interests that it is taking action that even the union-friendly New York Timesadmits is "highly unusual."

Daniels: Right To Work Law “As Soon As Possible”

"If we are serious about growing the economy and creating jobs, it is imperative that the Legislature pass right-to-work as soon as possible," opines New Hampshire State Rep. Gary Daniels. Daniels understands that his state can become a bastion of prosperity in the heavily taxed and over regulated Northeast, becoming a new haven for job creation -- if only the governor would get out of the way: Most state legislators hear regularly from our constituents about their top concerns. While the national debt and international engagements certainly carry a great deal of interest nationally, and balancing the budget without raising taxes or fees garners a lot of attention at the state level, by far the top issue remains creating good, new jobs and getting our economy growing robustly again. That's why it is so critical for New Hampshire to pass a law to become the 23rd right-to-work state and the only one in the Northeast. One of the major initiatives of this Legislature is creating and reestablishing pro-economic growth policies that are so critical for drawing businesses to the state and creating jobs, and then maintaining that environment so that businesses have the opportunity to succeed. Right-to-work is a major part of the puzzle. What is right-to-work? In short, it guarantees that no employee will be forced to join, or not to join a union, or pay dues or fees to a union, to get or keep a job. These days, finding steady employment is difficult for many people. However, it's simply unacceptable that anyone should be forced to pay dues or fees to a union to get or keep a job. How far we have strayed from the words of Samuel Gompers, the founder of the American labor movement, when he said, "The workers of America adhere to voluntary institutions in preference to compulsory systems, which are held to be not only impractical, but a menace to their rights, welfare and theirliberty," further noting that "no lasting gain has ever come from compulsion."
Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels Sabotages Right to Work Law

Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels Sabotages Right to Work Law

(Source: March 2011 NRTWC Newsletter) In Contrast, Maine Governor Stands Up For His Avowed Principles Eight years ago, Indiana citizens who were determined to free themselves and their fellow Hoosiers from the shackles of compulsory unionism launched what they knew from the beginning would be a sustained, and often difficult, effort to pass a state Right to Work law. Ever since then, the organization these citizens put into high-gear in 2003, the Indiana Right to Work Committee, has mobilized an ever-loudening drumbeat of support for employee freedom. Over the course of the ongoing campaign, the Indianapolis-based Right to Work group has benefited from the counsel and experience of the National Right to Work Committee. And National Committee members and supporters who live in the Hoosier State, roughly 119,000 strong and growing in number year after year, have been the bulwark of the Indiana Right to Work campaign. Stubborn Opposition to Right To Work Has Ended Long Political Careers in Indiana In the 2004, 2006, 2008 and 2010 state election cycles, pro-Right to Work Hoosiers sent thousands upon thousands of postcards, letters, and e-mail messages to their legislative candidates urging them to oppose forced unionism. Right to Work activists also reinforced the point with phone calls and personal visits. Since the Indiana Committee emerged as a major statewide citizens lobby, many politicians who once rode the fence have decided to take a stand in favor of Right to Work. Other politicians who stubbornly continued to carry water for, or at least appease, Big Labor have gone down to defeat. For example, in early 2005, then-Senate President Pro Tem Robert Garton (R-Columbus) told National Right to Work Committee President Mark Mix that Right to Work legislation wouldn't get a floor vote in his chamber as long as he held his leadership position. In 2006, Mr. Garton, a 36-year incumbent and the longest serving Senate pro tem in American history, was defeated by primary challenger Greg Walker, an underfunded political novice. A critical asset Mr. Walker did have going for him was his 100% support for Right to Work. That same year, 26-year state Rep. Mary Kay Budak (R-LaPorte) was ousted in a primary upset by pro-Right to Work challenger Tom Dermody. A few months earlier, Ms. Budak had been one of the minority of House Republicans who voted with Big Labor to defeat an amendment that would have made Indiana a Right to Work state.