LD309 -

(2011)

An Act To Make Voluntary Membership in a Public Employee Labor Organization in the State

Sponsored by Sponsored by: Rep. Tom Winsor (R – Norway)

What is the bill?

There were two so-called “Right to Work” bills this session – LD 788 and LD 309. Such bills are designed to weaken unions and undercut workers’ ability to negotiate a decent contract. Under state and federal law, unions are required to represent all workers fairly and equally whether or not they join the union. LD 788 would have made it illegal for private sector employers and workers to agree that all workers share the costs of collective bargaining and representation. This would allow workers to get all the benefits of representation without sharing in any of the costs. Workers in so-called “Right to Work” states tend to have lower wages, more dangerous working conditions and lower overall living standards. As originally proposed, LD 309 repealed the long-standing process for establishing who represents public sector workers in contract negotiations and provided no new process to replace it. As amended, LD 309 is a Right to Work bill for State workers. The bill also restricts the bargaining rights of all public sector employees and it prohibits the collection of union dues after the expiration of a union contract – a clear attempt to stack the bargaining table in favor of the employer. LD 309 followed a very unusual path. The bill sat in Committee for months and was referred out of committee without a public hearing. Late in the session, the Governor’s office became very involved and the bill was unexpectedly sent back to Committee. The roll call votes in the House and Senate were procedural votes that if passed would have killed the bill. After a lengthy public hearing, the Committee voted to hold LD 309 over until next session.

What happened?

Votes