New Hampshire was once the site of some of the nation's most contentious battles over "right-to-work" legislation--measures pushed by the GOP that allow workers to receive the benefits of union representation without paying dues.
But now, the clarion calls of Republican state legislators appear to be falling on deaf ears. A crowd of less than 100 showed up to a legislative hearing on a right-to-work measure Wednesday, in contrast to the 2011 hearings that filled the 400 seats in New Hampshire's statehouse. With a newly elected Democratic majority in the state's House of Representatives, the anti-union, wage-killing legislation is likely no longer a threat.
From Nashua's Telegraph:
Mark MacKenzie, president of the New Hampshire AFL-CIO labor union, cited the 2012 study of the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute that concluded a right-to-work law would cause wages to decline by an average $1,500 a year.
“It is beyond any doubt that based on the economic data alone, this bill is bad policy for our state,” MacKenzie said.
For more on right-to-work laws, see the Economic Policy Institute's research .
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