Email
Employee choice law would benefit N.M.
Here we go again. New Mexico is No. 1 on yet another unsavory list. Forbes Magazine recently named the state the worst of 11 “Death Spiral” states in the country. The list is based on bad trends in employment, weak home prices, debt and an uncompetitive business climate. In addition, (it said) private-sector workers are far outnumbered by state workers and people who are dependent on the government.
One of the main reasons New Mexico is unattractive to private-sector employers is the lack of an “employee choice” law. Employee choice, otherwise known by the less politically correct name of right to work, states a person is free to decide whether to join a union or not. Union dues cannot be forced on a person who decides not to join a union.
Doesn’t that sound fair? Doesn’t that sound like a freedom every employee should have in the United States of America?
Current law in New Mexico gives an exclusive representation monopoly to unions in the workplace. Right now, unions can legally force an employee to pay union dues whether they want to or not. Twenty-three states have an employee choice law on their books. These states, according to the Department of Labor, the Department of Commerce and the Bureau of Census, have a much lower unemployment rate, higher personal income and a lower cost of living than states without these laws. In addition, manufacturing GDP grew more than 10 percent faster in states with an employee choice law compared to states without one.
Unions fight employee choice legislation because they say it will harm unions. The opposite is true. Under this law, collective bargaining remains untouched. Unions will still exist. It allows workers to organize — but at the will of individual employees.
It is astounding that the same legislators who stand up against certain legislation that takes away individual freedom also continually stand up against employee choice legislation. Freedom is not a coat that can be put on and taken off. All men and women should be free all of the time — not just when it helps a cause.
Every year during the legislative session, employee choice legislation is introduced by Republican state Rep. Candy Ezzell. And every year, the speaker immediately sends it to what is known as “the killing fields” — the House Labor Committee — where it dies a quick and painful death. Rep. Ezzell should be applauded for continuing in this effort. She understands this legislation is key to New Mexico’s economic growth. We are losing our best and brightest employees to states that have an employee choice law.
As a New Mexico citizen, call your legislator now and ask him or her why they do not support legislation that allows freedom of choice. Ask why they think the government should force workers to do something they do not want to do. And finally, ask why they do not think employees should be allowed to freely exercise their rights by choosing whether or not they want to join a union.
Roxanne Rivera-Wiest
President
Associated Builders and Contractors of N.M.
