It fits right in to ‘the New Hampshire advantage’
BUSINESS-FRIENDLY
Once again, right-to-work legislation is before our New Hampshire Legislature and I believe with Republicans in control of the House, Senate and with Governor Sununu, this important piece of legislation will pass if Republicans stick together.
On Feb. 11, the Senate, under the leadership of Senate President Chuck Morse, passed Senate Bill 61 on a 13-11 vote. It now has come to the House, which recently held a public hearing and the Labor Committee gave it a positive recommendation and it will soon be voted on and, if passed, it will be signed into law by Governor Sununu.
Simply put, the right-to-work bill would allow our private sector, hard working men and women who work for a private business that has a union, the same rights that our public sector workers have, under the 2018 Supreme Court decision, Janus v. AFSCME.
This court ruling gave our public sector men and women the right to decide if they want to belong to a public union, such as our police, fire, teachers and state employees unions. They now have the right to decide if they want to join the union and pay the dues or not, and SB 61 will give our private sector workers the same rights, protections and freedom to decide.
I would encourage you to visit the website for the Mackinac Center for Public Policy (mackinac.org) and look up the following documents by F. Vincent Vernuccio: “Right to Work Frequently Asked Questions” and “Rightto-Work by the Numbers: Right-to-Work Means Higher Incomes, More Jobs, Lower Unemployment for New Hampshire.”
From these studies you will quickly see the advantages and many positive benefits for workers in states that have passed the Right-to-Work.
Here are a few examples:
• “States that have passed Right-to-Work have higher income growth for workers.”
• “Right-to-work states have higher private sector job growth.”
• “Right-to-work states have lower unemployment”
I would encourage all New Hampshire workers who would like more employment opportunities with higher wages and who want the same freedoms that the public employees have to look up and contact their state representatives and call, email or send a letter and tell them you want them to support and pass SB 61, the right-to-work bill.
If passed, New Hampshire will be the only state in the Northeast that will have a right-to-work law. Couple this with our state’s accomplishments, such as being fiscally responsible and a state that has no sales or income tax, we all enjoy “the New Hampshire advantage,” and just recently New Hampshire was named one of the top five freest states in America to live and work in.
If right-to-work is signed into law, New Hampshire will be a magnet for businesses and workers to move to, and we will be the envy of the entire Northeast states.
If my prediction is correct and rightto-work passes, we can engrave “The New Hampshire Advantage” into our rock-solid Granite forever and our hardworking, men and women will be the beneficiaries.
Tom Thomson is a tree farmer in Orford.
