Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: FJB who wrote (467448)	1/25/2012 7:44:50 PM
From: Brian Sullivan	3 Recommendations Respond to of 793559

Indiana House Passes Right-to-Work Bill The Indiana House passed legislation Wednesday that would ban contracts requiring employees to pay union dues, ending Democratic efforts to block the bill and making final adoption almost certain for the country's first right-to-work law in more than a decade. The bill now heads to the Indiana Senate—controlled by Republicans 37 to 13—which could move the legislation to Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels by Feb. 1. If Mr. Daniels signs the bill, as expected, Indiana would become the 23rd right-to-work state in the nation, and the first in the industrial Midwest, home to many of the nation's manufacturing jobs and a traditional bastion of organized labor. Associated Press Labor's loss in Indiana would halt momentum unions gained after repealing a collective-bargaining law in Ohio in a November referendum. That law, which was signed last year by Republican Gov. John Kasich but never took effect, would have reduced bargaining rights for public-sector unions and increased the amount those workers pay for health care and pensions. Some labor experts said the fight over right-to-work laws is now more likely to spill into the presidential election. "This is going to embolden Republican presidential candidates to talk about a national right-to-work law," said Gary Chaison, a professor of industrial relations at Clark University in Worcester, Mass. At least nine states have right-to-work legislation pending, including Michigan. Unions are bracing for another year of bruising fights in statehouses over restricting union rights that could sap time and resources that labor leaders would rather use to help re-elect President Barack Obama. "It is shaping up to be another rough and tumble year in the state legislatures," said Naomi Walker, director of state government relations for the AFL-CIO. Opponents of the Indiana bill vowed to continue fighting it in the Senate, where they hope some Republicans might be persuaded to vote against it. But Jeff Papa, chief of staff of the Indiana Senate, said he expected the bill soon to become law. "I don't know of anything that's changed" since the Senate passed an identical bill earlier this week. Last year, Indiana House Democrats fled to Illinois for five weeks to block similar legislation, eventually forcing Republicans to table a right-to-work measure. This year, Republicans were unwavering in their commitment to passing the bill amid stronger support from Gov. Daniels, who opposed right-to-work legislation when he ran for office in 2004. Gov. Daniels and Republican lawmakers in Indiana say a right-to-work law would lure business and create jobs. In a speech this month, Gov. Daniels said he came to support the measure because "Indiana gets dealt out of hundreds of new job opportunities because we have no right-to-work law." Democratic lawmakers and union members, who for weeks have flooded the statehouse to protest the bill, say the bill would weaken unions, leading to lower wages and worse working conditions. House Democrats sat out for at least eight days over the past three weeks to prevent Republicans, who control the House 60 to 40, from forming a quorum and passing the bill. Republicans fined Democrats $1,000 a day per person for missing some of the House sessions. Democrats decided to end their holdout partly because of the financial hit, a person familiar with the matter said, and because they were disheartened after no Republican voted for the Democrats' amendment to put the bill to a statewide referendum. Democratic Rep. Scott Pelath denied the fines were a factor, saying the Democrats simply realized that it wasn't possible "to kill it through endless delay." In a contentious debate Wednesday, some Democrats pleaded with their colleagues to defeat the bill, while others admitted that the bill's fate was likely sealed. The bill passed by a vote of 54 to 44. "There are two good reasons to pass this bill. The first is freedom of the individual worker," said Rep. Gerald Torr, the Republican author of the bill. "Secondly, jobs in Indiana." Teamsters President Jim Hoffa said Republicans' fines amounted to "strong-arm" tactics, and predicted a "tremendous backlash" from constituents if the bill is signed into law. If the Indiana Senate doesn't move the bill as fast as the chamber's rules allow, the bill could be delayed until after the Super Bowl in Indianapolis on Feb. 5. Union activists have intimated they may use the nation's most high profile sporting event to vent their frustration. Because of Senate rules the earliest day senators could get the bill to Mr. Daniels's desk is Feb. 1, the night lawmakers must vacate their Indianapolis hotel rooms for the influx of football fans.