New Hampshire House Fails to Override Veto of 'Right-to-Work' Bill

CWA Helps Lead Victorious Campaign Against Anti-Worker Legislation

CWA and other union members rallied and lobbied for months against right-to-work legislation, leading to victory Nov. 30 when the House failed to overturn the governor's veto of the bill.

Despite months of dirty tricks by New Hampshire's speaker of the House, a so-called "right-to-work" bill finally died Nov. 30 when Republican legislators couldn't muster enough votes to override the governor's veto.

Union members and allies in the House gallery and overflow areas burst into cheers and tears of joy. "People started to sing, they started to cry, the gallery was hooting and hollering, and we're hugging people we don't even know," said CWA Local 1400 District Vice President Felicia Augevich, who led the local's fight against the bill and coordinated with unions statewide.

The heavily GOP House voted 240-139 in favor of the override, but that was 12 votes short of the two-thirds majority required by law. All 104 Democrats were joined by 35 Republicans in voting against the legislation.

Augevich said a team of labor activists ran what they call a "whip operation," ensuring that pro-worker Republicans are in place when a key vote is called. "We make sure that they're in the chamber," she said. "We stand by all of those doors, and we literally follow them if they're going out for a break. We make sure they're back in their seats in time."

Democratic Gov. John Lynch vetoed the right-to-work bill in May, saying it would be harmful not only to workers but to what has been a favorable business climate in New Hampshire. House Speaker William O'Brien has been maneuvering to defeat the veto every since.

O'Brien scheduled and delayed votes multiple times and tried to call surprise sessions to catch his political opponents off-guard and unable to attend. His bad reputation for strong-arm tactics got even worse, Augevich said, as he stripped everything from parking spots to committee assignments from Republicans who wouldn't see things his way.

From the time of the bill's introduction in April to the vote this week, Augevich said public and private sector union members and allies exhaustively met with legislators and worked to educate them and New Hampshire residents about the damage the legislation would do to working families and their state.

Their efforts ultimately defeated a campaign that was built with millions of dollars from outside interests, such as the infamous Koch brothers.

"Rather than bowing to months of public and private pressure from Speaker O'Brien, Republican members of the House sided with all House Democrats against a law pushed by the Tea Party and out-of-state groups such as Americans for Prosperity," New Hampshire AFL-CIO President Mark MacKenzie said. "The working men and women urge Speaker O'Brien to take the will of the people into account and focus on jobs, not political attacks, in the next legislative session."