Granite State Taxpayers and Americans for Tax Reform both support RTW Senate Bill 61.
(GST recommended Right to Work when it was last considered under then SB11 in 2017.)
SB 61 would make New Hampshire the 28th Right to Work state, a huge victory for Granite State workers.
Following is their testimony to the NH House Labor, Industrial and Rehabilitative Services Committee.
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Granite State Taxpayers
Granite State Taxpayers supports Senate Bill 61, to prohibit collective bargaining agreements that require employees to join a labor union. We support this bill for several reasons:
– Workers should have the freedom to decide whether or not to join a union, depending on whether doing so advances their interests.
– We consider that regulating private sector relationships is not a proper role of government as defined in our Constitution.
– The benefits to states having the protection of right-to-work laws are overwhelming in comparison to forced-union states.
Labor unions are businesses that represent people, much like agents represent models or professional sports players. Today, people may be forced to join a union, or pay its dues, as a condition of employment.
What makes a labor union (as a business) deserving of government support by requiring participation?
If unions provide real value to workers, their membership would grow even without government support.
Economist Arthur Laffer has noted that “the economies in states with right-to-work laws grow significantly faster than those in forced-union states. They also have higher employment growth, higher average wages, attract more residents, and have more rapid growth in state and local tax revenues.”
New Hampshire has an opportunity, in Senate Bill (SB) 61, to join the majority of states that have sided with the simple proposition that no American worker should be prohibited from joining a labor union, or required to join a union, as a condition of employment.
We consider SB 61 to be Pro-Worker, Pro-Freedom, Pro New Hampshire, and we support its passage.
Ray Chadwick, Chairman, Granite State Taxpayers
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Americans for Tax Reform
On behalf of Americans for Tax Reform (ATR) and our supporters across New Hampshire, I urge you to support Senate Bill 61, legislation that prohibits collective bargaining agreements that require employees to join a labor union. If implemented, S.B. 61 would finally make New Hampshire a Right to Work state.
Right to Work laws allow workers the freedom of employment without forced membership in a labor union or forced payment to a union boss. While workers are free to join a union if they choose to do so, this bill simply affirms that workers in New Hampshire never have to join a union just to get a job. Existing Right to Work Laws protect 166 million Americans in 27 states, more than half the U.S. population.
If implemented, Senate Bill 61 would be a massive victory for New Hampshire workers. Research shows that Right to Work states experience stronger growth in the number of people employed, growth in manufacturing employment, and growth in the private sector.
According to the National Institute for Labor Relations Research, the percentage growth in the number of people employed between 2007-2017 in Right to Work states was 8.8%, and 4.2% in forced-unionism states. Growth in manufacturing employment between 2012-2017 in Right to Work states was 5.5%, and 1.7% in forced-unionism states. The percentage growth in the private sector from 2007-2017 in Right to Work states was 13.0%, and 10.1% in forced-unionism states.
Additionally, states that compel workers to join a union are losing residents at a rapid rate. An analysis by Stan Greer of the National Institute for Labor Relations Research found that forced unionism states, between 2007-2017, experienced net migration of -7.4%, whereas Right to Work states experienced a 1.6% growth in number of residents.
No worker in the Granite State should be forced to choose between putting food on the table and paying off a union boss. If S.B. 61 becomes law, no worker will have to make that choice.
ATR supports S.B. 61, urges the House Labor, Industrial and Rehabilitative Services Committee to vote YES.
Tom Hebert, Federal Affairs Manager, Americans for Tax Reform
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Contact your Representatives and urge them to vote for SB 61.
Click here to find contact information for your Representatives and Senator.
Click here for SB 61 status. Click here to read the text of SB61.
Posted by GST Chairman Ray Chadwick