The Problem with Forced Unionism In NH

New Hampshire is very close to passing the Right to Work law and ending forced unionism in the state. After all, the majority of those in New Hampshire would prefer it. Signing in Governor Sununu would be a solid step in giving the people what they want. In Seacoast Online, National Right to Work Committee President Mark Mix has written an opinion piece on the subject matter.

From Seacoast Online:

Nearly 80% of Americans support the Right to Work principle, which says that no worker should be forced to pay union dues just to keep their job.

A majority of states have enshrined that principle into law by adopting a state Right to Work law to ensure that while anyone may join a union voluntarily, workers cannot be required to join or financially subsidize a union they oppose.

You may wonder why in New Hampshire, a state with a long tradition of defending individual liberty, Right to Work wouldn’t be an easy win.

The problem is, union bosses fight hard to maintain their power over workers, wielding a massive lobbying machine financed by the dues of workers, who have no choice but to pay.

These union boss privileges don’t just deny workers their freedom, they also impose big costs on New Hampshire’s economy. 

From 2010-2020, Right to Work states’ rate of growth in the number of people employed was more than quadruple that of New Hampshire.

PHH Fantus, the nation’s leading relocation firm, reported that for half of all businesses looking to expand or relocate, moving to a forced-unionism state is a non-starter.

It seems companies want to avoid the wasteful work rules and the union-label hate-the-boss mentality that union officials in forced-dues states are more likely to foment.

In Right to Work states, independent-minded workers are empowered to hold union officials accountable for their radicalism by withholding their dues.

Businesses and workers alike are drawn to Right to Work states, where union bosses don’t have the power to hold workers’ jobs hostage for payment.

The result is a big win for the citizens of Right to Work states.

The cost of living adjusted compensation per private sector employee in 2019 was nearly $2,300 higher in Right to Work states than in New Hampshire.

In 2019, Right to Work states authorized the construction of nearly twice as many new single unit houses per capita than New Hampshire, a trend which reflects the greater prosperity of workers and their families in those states.

All these benefits don’t mean much to union bosses who are unwilling to lose their powers of compulsion and give a choice to the workers they supposedly represent.

But union officials didn’t always have such a callous attitude towards trusting individual workers to choose what’s best for themselves.

In 1916, Samuel Gompers, the Founder of the American Federation of Labor, proclaimed that “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 their liberty.”

Even a staunch advocate for unionization like Gompers recognized that it was wrong to force workers into union ranks.

He rightly pointed out that compulsory systems, like today’s forced-dues system, are a “menace” to workers’ rights.

Today’s Big Labor advocates want workers to believe that their rights are somehow being advanced when union bosses take away their right to decide whether to join a union.

But the truth is, denying employees that choice is simply anti-worker.

A solid majority of Americans across the country and in New Hampshire support Right to Work because it protects workers’ freedom and leads to a more prosperous economy for all.

Members of the New Hampshire House of Representatives should keep that freedom and prosperity in mind when they decide whether to send Right to Work to Governor Sununu to sign into law.

Mark Mix is president of the National Right to Work Committee. The views expressed are those of the writer.

Read the article on Seacoast Online.