McKayne Boedeker:
Being forced to join a union isn't freedom

The New Hampshire Union Leader -- the largest newspaper in the state -- published an Op-ed by New England Citizens for Right to Work Executive Director McKayne Boedeker on the day of the bill's hearing before the House Labor Committee.

Boedeker begins:

"In 1809, the Revolutionary War general and New Hampshire native John Stark wrote, “Live Free or Die: Death is not the worst of evils” to a group of veterans gathering to commemorate the Battle of Bennington.

And 136 years later in 1945, “Live Free or Die” became our state’s motto, and we’ve done a good job of living up to it since then.

But we sometimes take for granted the freedoms afforded to us while our fellow citizens have had their rights and interests ignored. And this includes each worker’s right to refrain from union membership.

For too long, union bosses and their handpicked politicians have worked hand-in-hand to keep forced dues flowing into union coffers. Union bosses have spent billions of dollars preserving the forced union dues system across the nation, which allows them to take money from workers and exert undue influence in our political process.

Forced unionism forces workers into unions against their will as a condition of their employment. Under forced unionism, workers can be fired or passed over for a job if they refuse to join or support a union.

Holding workers’ feet to the fire in this way is repugnant..."

Read more at the New Hampshire Union Leader:
McKayne Boedeker: Being forced to join a union isn't freedom