A Republican leader in the state legislature wants New Hampshire to bar unions from charging non-members for representing them. With Governor-elect Chris Sununu also backing so-called right-to-work, the issue will be prominent when lawmakers return to Concord next year.
Divisions in the GOP and Democratic governors have stymied efforts to enact right-to-work in the past.
The bill’s lead sponsor this time around, House Majority Leader Dick Hinch, says the idea behind the measure is to give workers more freedom.
“Just to make sure we are protecting an employee's rights to make choice,” says Hinch, a fifth-term Republican from Merrimack. “And that’s the essence of what right-to-work is all about.”
Opponents say right-to-work laws are designed to limit the power of unions and lead to lower wages.
Governor-elect Sununu has argued that right-to-work would send a positive message to businesses. Twenty-six states already have such laws on the books, though none in the Northeast.
