House Bill 331: New Mexico’s Anti-Worker (a.k.a. “Right-to-Work-for-Less”) Legislation is WRONG for New Mexico

HB 331 was introduced this past week into the New Mexico House of Representatives. This so-called "right-to-work" legislation has been scheduled for its first committee hearing before the House Labor and Human Resources Committee.

This bill is designed to weaken unions. The benefits you and your fellow members have fought for is threatened by this action. If passed, the end result will be less Screen Actors Guild jobs for SAG members.

What is Right-to-Work and why is it wrong for New Mexico? A "Right-to-work” law is a state statute which prohibits making membership or payment of union dues or fees a condition of employment, either before or after hiring.

As a Screen Actors Guild member, you need to understand that right-to-work would allow a non-union person to work a union job without paying anything. That's right! We would be supporting freeloaders. In a right-to-work state, non-members are entitled to work the same jobs under a union contract, receiving the same pay and pension and health contributions without ever having to join. In the long-term, right-to-work laws have the potential to lower the bar for everyone.

Moreover, statistics from the U.S. Department of Labor and the U.S. Census Bureau indicate that in right-to-work states all workers have a consistently lower quality of life than in union security states—e.g., lower wages, higher poverty and less health care.
 
What you can do to help:

1.  Attend the Committee hearing:
 
The first reading is open to the public and we encourage you to join members of the New Mexico AFL-CIO, I.A.T.S.E. Local 480 and other unions at the hearing. Our collective voices must be heard.

What: House Bill 331 Hearing        

When: 1:30 p.m., Tuesday, February 15

Where: Room 317, Roundhouse (State Capitol)
Santa Fe, New Mexico

2.  Contact your Legislators:

Politely, but firmly ask them to “vote no” on HB 331 - Right-to-Work-for-Less.

When contacting legislators, make sure you are contacting the people who actually represent your district. If you go to www.nmlegis.gov/lcs/ you can find out not only who represents you, but where you can reach them.

Be sure to also include your name, address, email and phone number. Phone calls, emails, and faxes are all effective, but keep it short – chances are you’re talking to an aide who is just going to be tallying calls for and against and they have other work to do.
 
Please note: A rally at the Roundhouse has tentatively been scheduled before the hearing. The time is still TBD. It’s also possible that regardless of the Committee’s decision, this bill could come up for discussion and a vote on the House Floor on Wednesday morning. If HB 331 clears the House, we don’t have enough allies in the Senate to stop the bill from becoming law. New Mexico could be a Right-to-Work state by next Friday. Please check the New Mexico Branch page on SAG.org for the latest information.
 
If you have any questions, please contact Tamara Decker at tdecker@sag.org.