NH LEGISLATURE Veterans speak out against right-to-work law

Veterans, labor leaders and an elected official banded together to shed some light on how New Hampshire’s proposed right-to-work law would affect the state’s veterans in a conference call on Tuesday.

The speakers talked about how their union membership has been beneficial to them personally and what unions were doing to protect veterans working in both the public and private sector. They included Will Fischer, a Marine veteran and the executive director of the National Union Veterans Council of the AFL-CIO, Marie Morgan, an Air Force veteran and retired member of State Employees Association Local 1984 and NH state Rep. Sean Morrison, R-Epping, an Army National Guard veteran and member of the International Association of Fire Fighters Local 2664.

“It’s important to realize you can’t walk into any factory or mill, fire hall, VA hospital, post office; on to any job site in the state of New Hampshire and not run into a veteran who is also there working,” said Fischer. “When you have a right-to-work bill, which is a bill that encourages stealing, you are taking money away from veterans, you are making veterans work places less safe and you are denying veterans what they need access to more than anything, not a standing ovation at a football game, but access to a good job that allows someone to live a life of dignity.”

Morrison, a member of the labor committee, is one of a handful of Republicans who oppose right-to-work legislation. He said unions in New Hampshire have veteran hiring preference policies but also a program titled, “Helmets to Hard Hats,” to help veterans transition back to civilian life through a training course.

“This past election was overwhelmingly about the middle class, right now these labor unions are hiring, and I post jobs in my town hall of Epping,” said Morrison. “So why would I ever vote against the ability of my constituents to gain good paying jobs that offer free training while you’re being paid?”

Another issue the veterans addressed was the issue of the “free-rider” problem when it came to unions collectively bargaining for wages. Morgan argued that people who opted not to be part of a union were simultaneously benefiting from a given union’s salary negotiations.

“I don’t think (right to work) is right because employees are getting better salaries and benefits from a contract and they don’t want to pay their fair share for the cost to negotiate that contract,” said Morgan.

Fischer said proponents of right to work are wrong in believing that agency fees for union membership go to political causes that an individual member disagrees with, because on membership forms an individual has an opportunity to check off a box declining to have their personal fees donated to any political cause on behalf of the union.

New Hampshire tried to pass right-to-work legislation in 2011, but then-Governor John Lynch vetoed the bill. Morrison said it had disastrous consequences for Republicans’ electoral efforts in the State House in 2012.

“I’m very concerned for my party,” said Morrison. “The last time we tried to pass this, in next election in 2012, we lost over 100 seats in the New Hampshire House of Representatives. Donald Trump is president for a reason, and a large part of that reason is that many union members crossed the party lines and voted for him. So why now are we going to attack the middle class right after these elections? I find that ludicrous.”

The New Hampshire House of Representatives will vote on the right-to-work bill on Thursday after it narrowly passed in the state Senate on Jan. 19.