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Assembly Speaker Oliver says Republican legislation that would make union membership optional is dead on arrival

BY TOM HESTER SR.

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

Assembly Speaker Sheila Y. Oliver (D-Essex) said Friday that she has declared a Republican proposal called the “New Jersey Right to Work Act” dead on arrival in the lower house.

Oliver’s action has the support of the New Jersey State AFL-CIO, which sees the legislation as and effort to destroy the labor movement in New Jersey.

“This legislation is dead on arrival.” Oliver said. “It’s that simple. Dead on arrival.

Radical conservative ideology such as this has no place in New Jersey. This type of move may play elsewhere, but, quite simply, this anti-worker bill will never see the light of day.

“Not only is this legislation an atrocious assault on worker rights, but it’s terrible economic policy,” Oliver said. “ It would set back any chance we have under Gov. Christie of a strong recovery.

Oliver maintains that a number of studies have shown that so-called right-to-work laws do not generate jobs and economic growth. She said such laws have been found to suppress wages and have had no impact on employment and business growth.

“Democrats and Republicans can work together for the common good and when appropriate to improve our economy and protect worker benefits, but this wage-cutting, anti-business bill is a line in the sand that cannot be crossed,” Oliver said.

New Jersey AFL-CIO President Charles Wowkanech said the proposal (A-4223) would restrict the ability of unions to collect dues and establish conditions of membership.

“The deceptively named “right to work” policy is currently law in 22 states and is considered one of the most anti-union policies in the nation,” Wowkanech said.

The legislation is sponsored by Assembly members Amy Handlin (R-Monmouth) and Declan O’Scanlon (R-Monmouth).

Handlin said in a commentary posted on NewJerseyNewsroom.com that, “In New Jersey, and many other states, however, workers are forced to join unions and fund their political priorities, regardless of their wishes. I support workers’ right to organize, but that should be a personal choice. Those who agree with their union representatives have every right to join, but others should have the freedom to work without subsidizing and endorsing a group they disagree with.”

Handlin said, “Forced unionization warps our First Amendment freedoms and has hurt states’ economic growth and ability to attract businesses that create jobs people need.

The labor movement deserves tremendous credit for fighting against unsafe working conditions, unfair wages and onerous working hours during the last century. But today, especially in the public sector, we can no longer maintain Depression-era labor laws that hinder economic growth.

“Employees are no longer mistreated as they were in the 19th Century and union membership has steadily declined since 1965,” the Assemblywoman said. “Public union members now outnumber those in the private sector – a clear indication that organized labor has become more about preserving benefits and pensions that taxpayers can’t afford than making sure 12-year-olds aren’t forced into work in sweat shops in the lower East side of New York.

“Right to Work would also quicken New Jersey’s economic revival. Right-to-Work states had 497,000 new businesses from 1993 to 2009, compared with 340,000 in forced union states, according to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics recently cited by the Wall Street Journal. That’s remarkable because just 40 percent of American workers live in Right-to-Work states.

“New Jersey is still recovering from the national economic collapse, which combined with a decade of disastrous tax, spend and borrow policies by the Democrats, has decimated the state’s revenues and left our unemployment rate above the national average,” Handlin said.

“The only solution from Trenton Democrats has been a “Back to Work” legislative package that would cost more than $600 million with no guarantees of replacing one of the 156,100 private-sector jobs they cost New Jersey. A better way to get New Jerseyans back to work is to guarantee their Right to Work without impediments on economic growth. This freedom won’t cost taxpayers one penny.