The latest drive for “right-to-work” in New Hampshire crashed into the brick wall of the state’s labor movement this month, as the IBEW and fellow unions overcame a huge Republican majority to defeat the bill for the 40th time.
"It was the heaviest lift of my career,” said state AFL-CIO President Glenn Brackett, former business manager of Manchester, N.H., Local 2320. “We started out 44 votes upside-down, and we ended up winning by 20.”
From campaign resources to member participation, Brackett said, the IBEW’s help was invaluable.
“The IBEW Second District really carried the day,” he said. “All I had to do was make a phone call, and the local unions turned out.”
The Feb. 13 vote in the House of Representatives was 200-180, with 25 Republicans joining Democrats not only to reject the bill but also to bar it from coming to the floor again until the 2027 legislative session.
Over the past four decades, national anti-union groups have spent tens of millions of dollars in New Hampshire attempting to pass right-to-work — a misnomer that allows workers to reap the benefits of union membership without having to contribute to the costs of bargaining and representation.
“Because of the hard work of our members and union brothers and sisters around the state, the majority of our lawmakers understand that right-to-work isn’t just bad for workers, it’s bad for jobs and the economy in places with these laws on the books,” said Mike Monahan, Second District international vice president. “We’ve won the battle 40 times, and we’ll win it 40 more if we have to.”
Monahan applauded the participation of locals in New Hampshire and those from Massachusetts and Maine with members across the state border. They include Manchester, N.H., Local 2320; Boston Locals 103, 104 and 2222; Dover, N.H., Local 490; Manchester, Maine, Local 1837; Worcester, Mass., Local 96; and Waltham, Mass., Local 1505.
Fighting back in New Hampshire has gotten tougher over the past 10 years under the trifecta of a GOP governor, House and Senate. And this time around, the margin between the parties jumped from two House seats in the last legislative session to more than 40 in the wake of the 2024 elections.
Local 490 Business Manager Eric Batchelor described labor’s vigorous campaign of mailings and message blasts to members that encouraged them to call and visit legislators, easily send letters and turn out to demonstrate in front of the Capitol.
“It was all hands on deck,” Batchelor said. “People who’ve been fighting this for decades say this was the greatest victory we’ve ever had with right-to-work.”
Peggy McCarthy, a Local 2320 member who served two years in the New Hampshire House and describes herself as an “Eisenhower Republican,” said some members of her party just need a little nudge to understand that they can support business and oppose right-to-work at the same time.
“It’s like: ‘Hey, it’s OK to vote against right-to-work. You’re not a bad Republican if you don’t vote for this,’” she said.
Brackett said the success of those strategies also depends on electing labor-friendly Republicans.
“One of the things we did proactively during the last election cycle, we actively supported pro-union Republicans in primaries,” he said. “That was a huge component of our campaign to defeat right-to-work.”
He also stressed the solidarity of elected Democrats. All 180 House Democrats present for the vote — which came during an ice storm that kept some legislators away from the Capitol — were unanimous in rejecting the bill.
Even some employers publicly opposed the legislation.
“We were able to coordinate testimony from our New Hampshire NECA chapter manager and some of our NECA contractors to testify at the hearings,” said Ed Starr, a Second District international representative. “Their message was ‘We don’t need the government getting involved in our relationship with the union.’”
McCarthy, a central office technician with Consolidated Communications, made a similar point in testifying against the bill, saying it “attempts to insert government into an existing, functioning private arrangement.”
“My fellow union Republicans and I have had a challenging time in New Hampshire,” she told the House Labor Committee in January. “I’ve never understood the Republican disdain for unions. Aren’t we about limiting government interference and empowering individuals?
“I took my job 28 years ago because it’s a union shop,” McCarthy continued. “I benefit from good wages, health care, retirement, safe work rules, paid medical leave and pay equity — six major labor issues that were negotiated, not legislated.
“We keep the power on, we keep you online, we keep you safe, warm and connected, and get you where you need to be. We make prosperity possible. We are doing our part — please do yours.”