Right to Work Law Bad for New Hampshire

Last year, despite some twisted political maneuvering and trickery by New Hampshire House Speaker William O’Brien (R), he and other anti-worker lawmakers and their out-of-state backers could not override Gov. John Lynch’s (D) veto of a right to work for less bill.  With a new legislative session underway, they’re back at it again.

Thursday, the House labor Committee will hold a hearing on a new right to work (RTW) bill. Although  the calendar may have changed, the facts haven’t—right to work is still wrong for New Hampshire, a new Economic Policy Institute (EPI) report finds.

Political economist Gordon Lafer provides new evidence that RTW laws have failed as economic development strategies and would likely harm New Hampshire.  Right to Work: A Failed Policy, A New Hampshire Update strengthens the findings of Right-to-Work: Wrong for New Hampshire, an analysis of why RTW was particularly unsuited to New Hampshire that EPI released last April.

Some of the new evidence Lafer examines that confirms the harm that RTW has caused to state economies includes:

• A 2012 study by economists from the University of Nevada and Claremont McKenna College estimates that the damage RTW inflicts on nonunion employees is greater than earlier research suggested.
• A recent survey of manufacturers found that RTW status has fallen (to 16th place) in the list of factors influencing location decisions.
• An Oklahoma think tank that promoted the adoption of a RTW law reported that the state has in fact lost manufacturing jobs and become a next job exporter in the years since.
• A new study finds that workplaces in the construction industry are less safe in RTW states than in non-RTW states.
• Recent unemployment data show that New Hampshire continues to outperform RTW states.