January 22, 2025
CONCORD, NH – Today, the New Hampshire House Labor Committee held a public hearing on HB 238-FN the latest attempt to push so-called “right-to-work” legislation in a state that has rejected similar attempts multiple times.
At the close of the over five-hour public hearing, 1409 individuals had signed in to oppose “Right-to-Work”; 82 individuals had signed in to support HB 238-FN.
In response to HB 238, labor group leaders issued the following statements:
“While out-of-state billionaires and DC lobbyists continue to enlist legislators to introduce identical bills, year in and year out, a bipartisan coalition of legislators have voted to defeat ‘Right-to-Work.’ That is because it’s clear that New Hampshire’s government should not meddle in how private businesses in this state work together for their mutual benefit. Contracts between private employers and labor unions are business-to-business agreements that this legislature should leave to the Free Market,” said Glenn Brackett, New Hampshire AFL-CIO President.
Megan Tuttle, President of NEA-New Hampshire, stated: “Unions give workers power to bargain for things that matter to us, like our students and our schools. NEA-New Hampshire continues to oppose this anti-worker legislation because we know it’s a slippery slope that isn’t about worker freedom, but instead about corporate power. The proponents who continue to push this bill have one mission – to dismantle unions and limit the rights of workers across our state and across our country, both union and non-union.”
“’Right-to-Work’ continues to be, and always will be, wrong for New Hampshire!” said Deb Howes, President AFT-NH. “HB 238-FN interferes with the freedom to negotiate and engage in collective bargaining and claims to resolve a problem which simply does not exist. Statute already prohibits requiring union membership as a condition of employment, and every potential employee already has the right to decide to accept a job, with all the conditions and requirements laid out by the employer, which in this case, could include support for maintaining the mutually-agreed-upon collective bargaining agreement. Simply put, ‘Right-to-Work’ is government interference in the workplace by putting the state in the middle of the relationship between the employer and the employees.”
Rich Gulla, SEA/SEIU Local 1984 President, commented, “In essence, ‘Right-to-Work’ undermines the democratic freedoms and constitutional rights of employees, a stance that every legislator in New Hampshire should reject. These laws deprive workers of freedom and flexibility, sacrificing job security and benefits. Implementing “Right-to-Work” intensifies the challenges faced by struggling working-class families rather than alleviating them. Our responsibility is to champion the interests of working individuals and their families throughout New Hampshire, aiming to simplify, not complicate, their lives in both residence and employment.”
David Spechulli, New Hampshire Building and Constructions Trades Council President added: “‘Right-to-Work’ will strip workers of the protections afforded to them by agreements made between two private business entities, and as we have seen in other states that have passed similar laws, it will also lower wages and endanger worker safety and health by destroying the mechanisms we have built for training and employing these highly skilled workers.”
“These ‘Right-to-Work’ bills are nothing more than out-of-state, corporate interests looking to take advantage of our lawmakers, our businesses, and our workers,” stated David Pelletier, United Association Business Manager. “They deprive workers of their freedom to join together and form strong unions if they choose to. And they have no business being a part of how we do things here in New Hampshire.”
“This year’s version of ‘Right-to-Work’ is no different than those that a bipartisan coalition of our elected leaders have fought against and defeated in the past. It is an effort to diminish the rights and protections of New Hampshire working families, and would require that unions provide services to individuals that are not members, at no cost, which no legitimate business would ever agree to do,” said Richard Laughton, Teamsters Local 633 Business Agent.
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