When New Hampshire Gov. Maggie Hassan announced last fall that she would be pursuing a seat in the United States Senate rather than running for another term as governor, the surprise decision kicked off a flurry of campaigns to fill her spot in Concord. Unfortunately, all three Republican candidates are in favor of Right to Work legislation.
Late last month, Manchester Mayor Ted Gatsas, state Sen. Jeanie Forrester and Executive Councilor Chris Sununu squared off in a primary debate that had some interesting results. Despite the testy nature of the debate, when Right to Work legislation was brought up all of the candidates claimed that they would support the measure and sign it into law if they won the governorship.
State Sen. Jeanie Forrester even asserted that she doesn’t think it would damage the economy and that “it’s a good place for New Hampshire to be.”
After watching the debate current Governor Maggie Hassan fired back that “Republican candidates are talking about having people work for less money, while Democratic candidates are talking about ways to expand opportunity.”
Unfortunately for labor supporters, Republicans believe they have a real shot at winning the governor’s mansion. The Republican Governors Association announced that it will spend no less than $3-million on this race to promote the GOP candidate no matter who wins the nomination for the democrats.
“New Hampshire has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country. Flirting with something as damaging as Right to Work could irreparably harm the state’s economy,” said Richard Dalton, business manager for the International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) Local 18 in Ohio. “There’s no sense in trying to ‘fix’ something that isn’t broken.”
Right to Work laws, which weaken labor unions by allowing individuals operating in the same industry to opt out of paying union dues, have recently been a contentious issue in the state. In 2011 a bill that would have established New Hampshire as a Right to Work state passed the legislature but was vetoed by then Governor John Lynch.
Opponents of the legislation have long maintained that the laws lead to lower wages and less economic freedom.
“Right to Work laws are particularly damaging to the middle-class,” says Dalton. “Voters in the state should keep that in mind when they’re looking at these candidates. The future of their state could depend on it.”
For more information on Right to Work in Ohio, visit: http://protectohiosmiddleclass.org/
SOURCE: Keep Ohio's Heritage
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