Good(ish) news on right-to-work (for LESS) in NH and MO

The good guys won a few battles yesterday against the campaign to force workers to work for less.

In New Hampshire, the Manchester Union-Leader reported that a hearing on a proposed "right to work (for LESS) law drew overwhelming opposition. Reports the U-L from Concord:

A public hearing on the bill Thursday drew a huge crowd of supporters, union opposition and businesses on either side of the bill.

The overwhelming sentiment of those who showed up for the hearing, which ran for more than six hours, was to kill the bill. Of the roughly 300 people on hand, 34 registered in favor of it.

In Missouri, the Jefferson County Central Republican Committee unanimously approved a resolution opposing "right to work (for LESS)" proposals in the state legislature. According to the AFL-CIO blog

So called “right-to-work” bills are “divisive and are not the way our state should go,” said Committee Chairman Janet Engelbach.

We’ve got a lot of serious economic problems to deal with, and we need to remember the important role of unions in our county and in our state.

Engelbach, whose husband George is a member of Sheet Metal Workers Local 36, added that

We got involved in this issue because it is so important for our workers and our families.

When the resolution was announced to a wider audience at the Jefferson County Republican Club meeting, Englebach said there were no objections. She says “keeping good jobs here isn’t a partisan issue, and our legislators shouldn’t be pushing ‘right to work,’ especially not right now.”

We still have a long way to go to defeat these proposals, which are popping up in Maine, Indiana, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Michigan, to name a few. But we got a terrific letter of support from a retired attorney in Indiana on Thursday.

David Hoffman, a retired attorney from Mishawaka, wrote an opinion piece in the South Bend Tribune explaining that "right to work (for LESS)" proposals demonstrate goverment's contempt for the working class. He writes,

A fundamental weakness of the Bill of Rights is that it does not apply to the private sector. As a result, people who exercise their legally protected rights, such as the right to freedom of speech, may be exempt from governmental retaliation for doing so, but they can still face retaliation from their employers.

One consequence of this reality is that workers are often reluctant to talk and/or write about the rights, and plights, of the working class.

It's a tremendous argument. Read the whole thing here.