For Immediate Release:
Right to Work Passes General Court

Right to Work Passes General Court

Concord, NH – By a vote of 225 to 140, the New Hampshire House concurred with the Senate’s version of the New Hampshire Right to Work Bill (H.B. 474) today, sending the bill to Governor Lynch’s desk.

Once Governor Lynch receives the bill, he has 5 days to either sign the bill into law, let the bill become law without his signature or veto it and send it back to the General Court, where it will take a two thirds vote of each house to override his veto.

If the bill becomes law, New Hampshire would be the twenty-third state to pass a Right to Work law, which simply states that no worker can be forced to join or pay dues to a labor union just to have a job and feed their families.

Right now, over 68,000 workers in New Hampshire are forced to pay union dues as a condition of employment.

“A New Hampshire Right to Work law would simply restore workers’ ability to decide for themselves whether or not to join or pay union dues or ‘fees’ to a union official,” said John Kalb, Executive Director of New England Citizens for Right to Work.

Polls conducted in New Hampshire show that nearly 80% of Granite State citizens believe it is wrong to force workers to pay union dues just to get or keep a job.

Governor Lynch has publicly stated his intention to veto the bill.

Kalb said, “Governor Lynch has already promised his Big Labor benefactors that he will veto the Right to Work Bill. But if Right to Work supporters keep up the pressure, we have a good chance of overriding the Governor’s veto and making Right to Work the law of the land in New Hampshire.

“This is what the majority of New Hampshire citizens want, so if Right to Work doesn’t become law in New Hampshire this year, you can be sure that those politicians who defied the will of the overwhelming majority of Granite State citizens that oppose forced unionism will pay the price at the ballot box during the next election.

“One of the major reasons Right to Work is so popular in New Hampshire is that our current system of compulsory unionism is robbing Granite State workers of their freedom, and saps our economy of productivity and jobs,” added Kalb.

PHH Fantus, the nation’s longtime leader in business relocation, reported that at least half of all businesses looking to expand or relocate start their search by crossing off states like New Hampshire that don’t have Right to Work laws.

“Passage of Right to Work would be good for New Hampshire,” said Kalb. “The General Court can’t just keep sitting on their hands as the Granite State misses out on jobs when the solution is right there. New Hampshire needs a Right to Work law, and New Hampshire needs it now.”

From 1999-2009, non-agricultural employment in Right to Work states grew over 500% faster in Right to Work states than in New Hampshire.

A recent study by Dr. Barry Poulson, a past president of the North American Economics and Finance Association and also a professor of economics at the University of Colorado, compared household incomes in 133 metropolitan areas in Right to Work states with those of 158 metropolitan areas in non-Right to Work states.

Dr. Poulson found that the 2002 average real income for households in Right to Work state metro areas, when all else was equal, was $4,258 more than non-Right to Work state metro areas.

“In the interests of personal liberty and economic freedom, it’s time for Right to Work in New Hampshire.

“With 80% of Granite States in favor of ending forced unionism, the Right to Work issue won’t go away. Governor Lynch and other politicians can either realize that, or they’ll end up paying the price at the polls.”

###

New England Citizens for Right to Work is a 501 (c)(4) organization dedicated to the principle that no one should be forced to join or support a union just to get a job.

For more information, please contact
John Kalb, Executive Director
john.kalb@necrtw.org