Right to Work Dies in Maine State House

4/19/18, Maine First Media Staff Report,

A bill making union membership voluntary died in the Maine House Wednesday night.

LD 1880, the Right to Work bill, was killed in a bipartisan effort by swamp politicians. The final tally was 82-66.

Maine First Project President, Rep. Larry Lockman (R-Amherst) is a longtime champion of worker rights. According to Rep. Lockman, last night’s vote is yet another in a long line of examples of swamp creatures putting Mainers last.

“A majority of swamp critters in the House voted last night to keep the shackles of forced unionism on Maine workers,” Rep. Lockman said. “Principled populist conservatives will continue our fight for workplace freedom.”

Interestingly, House “leadership” never assigned the bill to committee. No public hearings were held. None of the standard steps for legislation were taken before Swamp Speaker Sara Gideon brought the bill up for a sacrificial vote.

The vote was a gift to the union hierarchy, which helps fund Democrat campaigns.

Right to Work simply makes it, so no worker is forced to pay union dues as a condition of employment. Workers who want to stay in their union do retain that option.

In fact, by forcing union bosses to convince workers to sign up, rather than compelling workers to join at the threat of losing their jobs, Right to Work makes unions more responsive to the workers they represent.

Study after study shows Right to Work laws lead to more purchasing powers for workers.

And every state that has passed a Right to Work law has enjoyed a surge in good-paying manufacturing jobs.

House Democrats threw a tantrum in the wake of Republicans voting against extending the legislative session. The Right to Work bill was one of several critical bills Democrats killed in a matter of hours. In fact, it was jaw-dropping to watch, after months of little action from the House, Democrat “leadership” managed to pull together votes to kill a handful of good bills in just a matter of hours. The breakneck speed makes one question what “leadership” has been doing all session.

The Right to Work sponsor this session was Republican Rep. Dustin White of Washburn. If Rep. White doesn’t reintroduce the bill next session, Rep. Lockman has introduced Right to Work legislation in previous sessions, and it is a safe bet to assume he would again in the future.