Should New Hampshire change the laws affecting collective bargaining?

NH’s state legislature has taken a number of steps this session to change the laws governing collective bargaining by union members in the state; while most of the media attention has focused on changes to public employee unions, there have also been moves that would affect workers in private companies as well.

__________

Update: On Nov. 30, 2011, the House failed to override Governor John Lynch's veto of HB 474, effectively killing the "right to work" bill.
__________

The first change was the Senate's passage in March 2011 of SB 1, which eliminated the automatic insertion of so-called “evergreen clauses” into new public union contracts in the state.

Passed in 2008 when Democrats controlled both the House and Senate in NH, the original measure required that the terms of expired public employee contracts continue, including scheduled wage increases, until a new contract is signed. The measure was strongly opposed by many municipalities, which felt that the clauses removed the incentive for labor unions to make concessions, forcing taxpayers to continue paying for services for longer than they need, or were able to afford. (The measure does not affect existing contracts, nor does it prevent clauses from being negotiated into future contracts if both sides agree; it simply removes their automatic extension)

A further change to public employee contracts—and the prime concern of many of those who protested House budget deliberations in Concord in March 2011—was a budget amendment to the House budget bill which some unions feel effectively disbands public unions when contacts expire.

The amendment turns all public workers into “at will” employees once contracts expire, which allows municipalities to set wages, benefits, and (some believe) allow the termination of workers without cause.

Status: Attempts by Democrats in the House and a few Republican dissenters to remove the amendment failed; predictions that the amendment had little support in the Senate seemed to borne out by a Senate Finance Committee decision, released on April 13, which recommended removing the amendment from the budget bill on the basis that it dealt with policy rather than spending.

Another measure, HB 474, would affect all workers at unionized workplaces in the state. A so-called ’Right To Work’ law, HB 474 would eliminate the requirement for employees at unionized workplaces to join and pay dues to their respective union.

Specifically, it prevents collective bargaining agreements from requiring employees to join the union, and releases unions from representing employees who decide not to join the union. Supporters of “right to work” laws say they can lead to lower unemployment rates in states that have enacted them, but some economists believe that there is no definite link between right to work laws and lower unemployment. Unions strongly oppose HB 474, and Governor Lynch has pledged to veto it.

Status: The NH Senate has voted in favor of "right-to-work" legislation by a veto-proof majority; the bill, HB 474, was earlier passed by the House, although not by a veto-proof majority. On May 11, Gov. John Lynch vetoed the bill, and House Speaker William O'Brien said the House wouldn't entertain an override of the veto until the fall.