Senators: nonunion members shouldn't have to pay

[The Northerner]

CONCORD, N.H.—A bill that would end the practice of requiring non-union members to pay a share of collective bargaining costs in New Hampshire won the support of a key Senate committee on Tuesday.

The four Republicans on the Commerce Committee out-voted the lone Democrat to recommend that the Senate pass a House bill Democratic Gov. John Lynch has already said he will veto. Republicans hold supermajorities in both chambers and could override a veto if they stick together.

The committee stripped out a provision added by the House that removed the obligation of public sector unions to bargain on behalf of nonunion members. Senate committee members said the provision attempted to answer complaints by unions they are required to negotiate for everyone, including those who don't pay dues, but could have caused other problems by creating confusion over who negotiates for nonunion employees.

Federal law requires unions to bargain for all workers, but allows states to make an exception for public sector unions, committee members said.

State Sen. Andy Sanborn, R-Henniker, said he believes strongly workers should have the right to choose whether to join a union. He said unions should have the same choice.

Read more: http://www.boston.com/news/local/new_hampshire/articles/2011/04/12/nh_senate_committee_to_vote_on_anti_union_bill/

[Brickbat]

1. "Right to Scab."

Right to scab, right to starve, right to spit in your co-workers faces, right to freeload...disgusting.

[damntexdem]

2. Then citizens who didn't vote for the senator shouldn't have to pay his salary.

;-)

[provis99]

3. +1

[proud2BlibKansan]

4. Works for me!

LOL

[meegbear]

5. +1

[tinymontgomery]

6. How about the ones that don't

pay don't get the same benefits. It should be about time that those that hate unions but reap their rewards don't receive those rewards.

[jpak]

7. Non-union workers should get less pay and benefits - only the union wagon pullers get the goodies

no non-union wagon riders please

yup

[Maine_Nurse]

9. So what happens when the union...

employees are paid less than the norm for their jobs and have zero representation from their union? In a state like Maine, where all state and municipal employees (and some non-profit employees) are covered by the same single union, some smaller groups, like state nurses, have an effectively useless union that does diddly squat for traditional nursing concerns ( you know, like trying to advocate for their patients). I'm definitely not anti-union, but there are unions out there that don't do crap for many of their members (and their patients).

[Brickbat]

10. Sounds like the rank-and-file needs to take action on the local level.

It happens.

[SheilaT]

8. Let those who don't want to join a union

get exactly the pay and benefits management thinks they should get.

[dmr]

11. I always thought it was unfair when I was working

down in Florida. I was willingly paying for union representation while some of my equals were not; yet they enjoyed the same pay scale & benefits that the union negotiated for us.

Interesting enough, when the same people got in trouble with management, they tended to think the union would represent them.
:hi: