From The Indianapolis Star and ADF:
Indiana union workers rally at Statehouse to protest bills
12:25 PM, Feb. 21, 2011
Written by
Mary Beth Schneider Filed Under
News
Politics & Government
Mitch Daniels
Union supporters wait to get inside the Statehouse this morning before a rally against what they see as anti-labor bills. / ALAN PETERSIME / The StarRelated Links
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12:45 PM -- Committee votes 8-5 to send right-to-work bill to House
Over the protests of thousands of labor union members who filled the Statehouse, a House committee voted on party lines today to send a bill that would bar unions and companies from negotiating contracts that require all employees to pay fees for representation.
House Bill 1468 — which supporters call the “right to work” bill and which opponents call the “right to work for less” bill — passed the House Employment, Labor and Pensions Committee on an 8-5 vote and now goes to the full House for debate.
The last-minute push for the bill by Republicans came despite Gov. Mitch Daniels’ admonition to the legislature that this is a big issue that should not be brought up in this session because it hasn’t had a statewide debate and wasn’t a campaign issue in the November election.
All Republicans on the committee voted yes and all five Democrats, to the cheers of union members, voted against it, arguing that it will hurt wages in Indiana.
Rep. Rep. Jerry Torr, the Carmel Republican who authored the bill, was greeted with laughs of derision when he said the bill “won’t change a darned thing for people currently in unions.”
He argued that unions will still have collective bargaining rights and that this will strengthen unions because “it will force union bosses” to bargain in the interests of all members.
The bill was opposed by the National Right to Work Committee, though, because it exempts construction trades. Torr said he did so as a compromise, which he did not detail in the committee.
That exemption, though, did nothing to stop the construction trades unions from opposing it. Instead, their representatives said they stood in solidarity with other unions against a bill that see as part of a nationwide Republican assault on labor unions.
Supporters of the bill, including the Indiana Chamber of Commerce and the Indiana Manufacturers Association, said that that this is about giving all workers the freedom of choice not to join a union.
(Page 2 of 2)
But labor leaders and attorneys said that this bill will block the freedom to negotiate. Currently, the only contracts in Indiana that would require workers who don’t want to be in a union to pay fees for representation are negotiated between the company and the union.
Barry A. Macey, a labor attorney, told the committee that only if the company and union agree, and a majority of the workers vote for the contract, does anyone who doesn’t belong to the union get assessed a fee. And, he said, federal labor laws allow employees to strip that provision from the contract if a majority votes to do so.
Indiana would become the 23rd state to enact such legislation. No state surrounding Indiana has it. Being an island in the middle of states that don’t have this legislation will increase Indiana’s ability to lure economic development, they said.
Both sides gave contradicting information on whether states with these laws do better economically.
Earlier -- Indiana union workers rally at Statehouse to protest billsThe thousands of union supporters that packed the Statehouse this morning and spilled out onto Downtown sidewalks hoped their show of solidarity would be enough to dilute legislative support of a proposed right to work bill.
"With the support we see today? I hope somebody would listen to us," said Rex Ambrose, president of United Steelworkers of America Local 2958, as he stood in the pouring rain waiting to get inside the Statehouse this morning.
The bill, sponsored by Rep. Gerald Torr (R-Carmel) was expected to pass out of a committee hearing, which began at 9 a.m.
How far it will get after that is unknown. Gov. Mitch Daniels has said this isn't the year for such legislation, perhaps fearful it will derail the rest of his legislative agenda.
"I understand it's not on the governor's agenda and I'm going to try very hard not to get in the way of the governor's agenda," Torr said prior to the hearing. "But the No. 1 thing people tell us they want us to deal with are jobs."
Yet by the time legislators began discussion of the bill, police estimated 3,500 workers, mostly opposing it, had already packed the Statehouse and its grounds and more were arriving.
Residents Bill and Kathie Criss of Indianapolis held hands as they walked down a first-floor hallway lined with workers holding signs.
"They're attacking the people who have built this city," Bill Criss said. "To cripple the unions is not the answer."
One man was playing Amazing Grace on a guitar outside the committee room.
The legislation, dubbed a "right to work law" by proponents and a "union-busting" measure by unions, prohibits unions from entering into contracts that say everyone hired must be a union member. The sponsor is Rep. Gerald Torr, R-Carmel.
Democratic house members on the Employment, Labor and Pensions Committee
attempted to table the legislation at the meeting's start calling it an "attempt to initiate class warfare" and pointing out that not all who wanted to watch the meeting would fit in the small first floor committee room where it was held.
But the Republican majority, pointing out that the meeting could be watched
remotely, kept the measure alive with a 4-7 vote.
Rep. Bob Heaton, R-Terre Haute, who passed the workers in the hallway but is not a member of the committee called the rally a part of the legislative process.
"It's important that legislators listen to both sides and proceed from there," he said.
Indiana union workers rally at Statehouse to protest bills
12:25 PM, Feb. 21, 2011
Written by
Mary Beth Schneider Filed Under
News
Politics & Government
Mitch Daniels
Union supporters wait to get inside the Statehouse this morning before a rally against what they see as anti-labor bills. / ALAN PETERSIME / The StarRelated Links
Wisconsin union debate could shape 2012 electionTwitter: Follow the hearing on labor billsReader survey: Are union limits needed?IURC begins new hearings on $1.9B sale of Indy utilities
Sponsor withdraws, carves up nepotism reform bill
Reader survey: Are union limits needed?
12:45 PM -- Committee votes 8-5 to send right-to-work bill to House
Over the protests of thousands of labor union members who filled the Statehouse, a House committee voted on party lines today to send a bill that would bar unions and companies from negotiating contracts that require all employees to pay fees for representation.
House Bill 1468 — which supporters call the “right to work” bill and which opponents call the “right to work for less” bill — passed the House Employment, Labor and Pensions Committee on an 8-5 vote and now goes to the full House for debate.
The last-minute push for the bill by Republicans came despite Gov. Mitch Daniels’ admonition to the legislature that this is a big issue that should not be brought up in this session because it hasn’t had a statewide debate and wasn’t a campaign issue in the November election.
All Republicans on the committee voted yes and all five Democrats, to the cheers of union members, voted against it, arguing that it will hurt wages in Indiana.
Rep. Rep. Jerry Torr, the Carmel Republican who authored the bill, was greeted with laughs of derision when he said the bill “won’t change a darned thing for people currently in unions.”
He argued that unions will still have collective bargaining rights and that this will strengthen unions because “it will force union bosses” to bargain in the interests of all members.
The bill was opposed by the National Right to Work Committee, though, because it exempts construction trades. Torr said he did so as a compromise, which he did not detail in the committee.
That exemption, though, did nothing to stop the construction trades unions from opposing it. Instead, their representatives said they stood in solidarity with other unions against a bill that see as part of a nationwide Republican assault on labor unions.
Supporters of the bill, including the Indiana Chamber of Commerce and the Indiana Manufacturers Association, said that that this is about giving all workers the freedom of choice not to join a union.
(Page 2 of 2)
But labor leaders and attorneys said that this bill will block the freedom to negotiate. Currently, the only contracts in Indiana that would require workers who don’t want to be in a union to pay fees for representation are negotiated between the company and the union.
Barry A. Macey, a labor attorney, told the committee that only if the company and union agree, and a majority of the workers vote for the contract, does anyone who doesn’t belong to the union get assessed a fee. And, he said, federal labor laws allow employees to strip that provision from the contract if a majority votes to do so.
Indiana would become the 23rd state to enact such legislation. No state surrounding Indiana has it. Being an island in the middle of states that don’t have this legislation will increase Indiana’s ability to lure economic development, they said.
Both sides gave contradicting information on whether states with these laws do better economically.
Earlier -- Indiana union workers rally at Statehouse to protest billsThe thousands of union supporters that packed the Statehouse this morning and spilled out onto Downtown sidewalks hoped their show of solidarity would be enough to dilute legislative support of a proposed right to work bill.
"With the support we see today? I hope somebody would listen to us," said Rex Ambrose, president of United Steelworkers of America Local 2958, as he stood in the pouring rain waiting to get inside the Statehouse this morning.
The bill, sponsored by Rep. Gerald Torr (R-Carmel) was expected to pass out of a committee hearing, which began at 9 a.m.
How far it will get after that is unknown. Gov. Mitch Daniels has said this isn't the year for such legislation, perhaps fearful it will derail the rest of his legislative agenda.
"I understand it's not on the governor's agenda and I'm going to try very hard not to get in the way of the governor's agenda," Torr said prior to the hearing. "But the No. 1 thing people tell us they want us to deal with are jobs."
Yet by the time legislators began discussion of the bill, police estimated 3,500 workers, mostly opposing it, had already packed the Statehouse and its grounds and more were arriving.
Residents Bill and Kathie Criss of Indianapolis held hands as they walked down a first-floor hallway lined with workers holding signs.
"They're attacking the people who have built this city," Bill Criss said. "To cripple the unions is not the answer."
One man was playing Amazing Grace on a guitar outside the committee room.
The legislation, dubbed a "right to work law" by proponents and a "union-busting" measure by unions, prohibits unions from entering into contracts that say everyone hired must be a union member. The sponsor is Rep. Gerald Torr, R-Carmel.
Democratic house members on the Employment, Labor and Pensions Committee
attempted to table the legislation at the meeting's start calling it an "attempt to initiate class warfare" and pointing out that not all who wanted to watch the meeting would fit in the small first floor committee room where it was held.
But the Republican majority, pointing out that the meeting could be watched
remotely, kept the measure alive with a 4-7 vote.
Rep. Bob Heaton, R-Terre Haute, who passed the workers in the hallway but is not a member of the committee called the rally a part of the legislative process.
"It's important that legislators listen to both sides and proceed from there," he said.
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