Right-to-Work passes 37-30!

Yesterday the New Mexico House passed HB75, Right-to-Work legislation that would give employees the choice to choose whether to join and associate with union.  The House voted 37 to 30.  One Democrat, Rep. Dona Irwin of Deming, voted with Republicans in favor of the Right-to-Work legislation.

Before voting on the legislation, representatives debated on the bill for three and a half hours.  Though the debate became heated at times, which led to a recommendation that some legislators including Rep. Roybal Caballero to stay on track, discussion of the bill ended on a pleasant note with Democrat Minority Leader Rep. Brian Egolf thanking Speaker Tripp for handling the evening well.

At the beginning of the debate former Democrat Speaker of the House Ken Martinez went on a long rant ripping HB75 earlier in the evening.  Martinez claimed the Judiciary Committee amendment, which added a minimum wage increase to the bill, was unconstitutional.  Martinez also tore into the bill’s sponsor Rep. Dennis Roch with condescending references and “water carrying for House Republican leadership” accusations.

The funniest comment of the evening that I caught was when Rep. Moe Maestas stated, “We’re not playing politics here.”  Yeah.  Right.

On to the Senate…

Now HB75 heads to the less-friendly Senate where Republicans are not in control and committee hearings are not held on time.

The Albuquerque Journal poll released Sunday, shows that 60% of New Mexicans say Union dues shouldn’t be mandatory and that workers should be able to choose whether to support a union or not.

Will Senate Democrats listen to the wishes of voters?

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