Statement from NH AFL-CIO Pres. MacKenzie on HB 383

For immediate release
Contact: Nora Frederickson 603-785-4211

Statement from New Hampshire AFL-CIO President Mark MacKenzie on HB 383, "Right to work for state employees"

Today a clear bipartisan coalition of 128 state representatives rejected the attempt by special interests to repackage HB 474, the right-to-work law voted down by the House in December. The fact that over a third of our House representatives – both Republicans and Democrats - voted against HB 383's passage is a clear sign that Speaker O'Brien is losing momentum in his Tea Party-fueled campaign to pass the so-called right to work law.

While HB 383 only impacts state employees as currently written, it opens a back door for the Speaker and other Tea Party extremists to impose a right-to-work on all New Hampshire workers and businesses. Our legislators' continued opposition to the right-to-work law in any and all forms the Speaker that New Hampshire's people need jobs more than they need political attacks on workers.

As New Hampshire struggles out of this recession, Speaker O'Brien has shown no wavering from the extreme Tea Party agenda that has cost us thousands of jobs in the Granite State. Passing HB 383 is just another sign that the Speaker cannot admit defeat. He will push his agenda at any cost – regardless of how it impacts the people of New Hampshire.

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As a strong statewide voice for all working people, the New Hampshire AFL-CIO brings together the unions of New Hampshire into one labor movement that fights for economic and social justice in our workplaces, and communities.