Final Right to Work Blog (127th Maine Legislature)

Efforts to pass “Right to Work” legislation in Maine have been defeated for the second time in four years. Three bills that were able to survive on minority reports after being heard and worked by the Legislature’s Joint Standing Committee on Labor, Commerce, Research, and Economic Development were defeated in mid-June by both the Democratic House and Republican controlled Senate.

LD 489, a very conventional Right to Work piece of legislation, was sponsored by Rep. Lawrence Lockman (R-Amherst) who has aggressively championed the policy for years. After more than an hour of heated floor debate in the House of Representatives the majority “Ought Not to Pass” motion was accepted by a vote of 90-52. Eleven Republicans representing swing districts and communities with high union density sided with Democrats.

LD 404 (a bill to prevent public employers from acting as collections agents) and LD 1319 (legislation to restrict public sector union officers from being compensated for days spent on union activities) were also killed by slightly narrower votes when they picked up one and four additional Republican votes, respectively.

Maine’s State Senate is controlled by Republicans who wield a 20-15 majority and so it was somewhat surprising when LD 489 was also killed in that body with a 21-14 vote. LDs 404 and 1319 suffered similar fates.

Previously, the conventional wisdom to observers had been that the Republican Senate would advance an “Ought to Pass” minority report, the Democratic House of Representatives would adhere to killing the bills, and they would eventually die in non-concurrence between the bodies. It appears that strategically organized attempts to beat back the legislation, led by the Maine AFL-CIO, were extremely successful in identifying and securing votes from Republican state senators in high-union density districts.

Right to Work - Chapter 4

Yesterday, May 6, 2015, the Joint Standing Committee on Labor, Commerce, Research, & Economic Development held work sessions on a number of bills pertaining to “Right to Work” policy. The Maine AFL-CIO held a morning rally in the cafeteria of the Burton M. Cross Building to coincide with  the work sessions. Roughly 100 members, activists, and officers gathered to hear speeches from trade union leaders and pro-union legislative leaders, namely Sen. John Patrick (D-Oxford). Before the 10:00 am legislative session began, AFL-CIO organizers coached attendees on how to speak with their representatives and senators about the union position on the proposed legislation. This did not only include members of the LCRED committee, but also the overall membership of both legislative bodies in anticipation of divided committee reports that would send the bills to the House and Senate.

The committee sent out three divided reports. Party line votes were taken on LDs 404, 489, and 1010 with un-enrolled committee member Rep. James Campbell (U-Newfield) siding with Democrats in opposition. Democrats have a majority on the committee, but divided reports mean the Republican controlled Senate will be able to move the Ought to Pass Minority Report of each bill in that chamber. However, House Democrats will likely kill the bills in the legislature’s lower body where no one in their caucus is expected to break ranks.

If supporters were able to get the minority reports through the legislature, however unlikely, Governor Paul LePage has made clear his desire to sign such policy into law.

The committee did vote outright to kill one of the major bills in question: LD 1353, sponsored by Sen. Andre Cushing (R-Hampden). The bill received a unanimous “Ought Not to Pass” report.

Additionally, Rep. Karleton Ward’s (R-Dedham) bill, LD 1319, which deals with employees receiving compensation on days they’re involved in union activity, was postponed and will be worked today, May 7, 2015, at a 2:00 pm session of the committee.

Right to Work - Chapter 3

The Maine Legislature’s Joint Standing Committee on Labor, Commerce, Research & Economic Development heard testimony Monday on six proposed bills that would seek to alter the relationship unions have with employees and effectively make Maine a “Right to Work”, or “pseudo-Right to Work” state. The work session for these bills will be today, May 6 at 2:00 pm.

Rep. Larry Lockman (R-Amherst) is sponsoring  LDs 404 and 489 and Rep. Joel Stetkis (R-Canaan) is sponsoring  LD 1351 – all bills dealing with public employers. These three pieces of legislation imply, in various ways, that the employees of public institutions not be required to join a union as a condition of employment.

LD 1319 is sponsored by Rep. Karleton Ward (R-Dedham). His bill would prevent public employees from collecting compensation on days when they participated in activities involving their business agents.

 

Sen. Andre Cushing (R-Hampden) is also proposing a pair of bills that were heard at Monday’s public hearing. The first, LD 1010, would exclude negotiations around the use of private contractors from collective bargaining proceedings with public entities. However, the marquis bill in question may be Sen. Cushing’s LD 1353 which is the only one of these six proposals to directly address private employer unionization and stands as a fairly straightforward “Right to Work”  bill. The legislation would, of course, exclude membership in a union as a condition of employment with private entities.

The hearing was heavily attended, lasting through the morning and into the afternoon. However, it did not draw excessively large crowds. Estimates placed the opposition, mainly composed of union members and officers, as outnumbering proponents of the six bills roughly “3 or 4 to 1”. The Maine AFL-CIO is expected to make a bigger demonstration of opposition on the morning of Wednesday, May 6 which will occur before these bills’ afternoon work sessions.

Right to Work Laws - Chapter 2

The Maine Joint Standing Committee on Labor, Commerce, Research and Economic Development has scheduled public hearings regarding bills which address different aspects of Right to Work.  The hearings are scheduled for Monday, May 4, 2015 at 9:30 a.m. at the Cross State Office Building, Room 208.

The primary bill being considered, LD 1353, Right to Refrain from Joining a Union, is a straightforward right-to-work bill presented by Senator Andre Cushing. This bill applies broadly to not only the public sector but to the private sector.  It defines as employers all persons, firms, associations, corporations, public employers, public school employers, public colleges, public universities, public institutions or public education agencies.  The bill would specifically prohibit a person from being required as a condition of employment to be a member of a labor organization or to pay any dues to a labor organization or a third party in lieu of payment.

Other bills being heard are LD 404, An Act to Prohibit Public Employers from Acting as Collecting Agents for Labor Unions, LD 489, An Act to Ensure the Right to Work without Payment of Dues or Fees to a Labor Union as a Condition of Employment, LD 1010, An Act to Afford Public Employers Flexibility to Achieve Efficiency and Quality in Management, LD 1351, An Act to Ensure that Membership of Public Employees in Union is Voluntary, and LD 1319, An Act to Ensure that Wages and Benefits of Maine State Employees Serve a Public Purpose.

Because these pieces of legislation have expanded into the private sector, there should be considerable support and opposition for them from the usual suspects. My next chapter will report what happened at the public hearings and when these bills are scheduled for work session.

Governor LePage Pushes Right to Work Legislation

Governor Paul LePage is aggressively pushing LD 489, An Act to Ensure the Right to Work without Payment of Dues or Fees to a Labor Union as a Condition of Employment.  Current law allows public employees to opt out of joining a union, but still requires the employees to pay the pro-rata share of dues.  The law specifically prohibits a public employee from being required to join or pay dues to a union.  A violation of the law would be a Class D crime and allow injunctive relief and recovery of attorneys’ fees and costs.  The Maine AFL-CIO, in its press conference on March 12, 2015, stated its strong opposition to the bill and stated that “Despite its misleading name, the stated law does not give anyone any rights or any work”.  The express concern is that right to work laws “allow workers to contribute nothing and still get all the benefits of union membership.”

This issue is national in scope and was recently enacted in Wisconsin.  At today's press conference, the AFL-CIO suggested protesting Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker’s upcoming visit to Maine. We will track the progress of this legislation as it proceeds through the Legislature.