INDIANAPOLIS —As Democrats decided they couldn’t keep up their rolling boycott any longer, the Republican-led House left little doubt that Indiana will become the nation’s 23rd right-to-work state by approving the measure Wednesday.
There are still steps to take, since the bill must now clear the Senate. But that chamber’s Republican supermajority has already passed an identical bill, so there are no obstacles to slow its path to the desk of Gov. Mitch Daniels, who says he wants to sign it into law.
Wednesday was a victory for Republican House Speaker Brian Bosma, who fought for four weeks to get Democrats who sought to stall the measure back in their seats, and for longer to make sure his 20-seat majority guaranteed he had the votes.
“It’s not a silver bullet. It’s one more opportunity for employers to take a hard look at Indiana. I think this announces, especially in the Rust Belt, that we are open for business here,” Bosma said.
The 54-44 vote – five Republicans joined all 39 Democrats present in opposing the bill – came amid a chaotic scene at the Statehouse. Democrats opened the right to work debate by propping doors at the back of the House open, so that “No right to work!” chants from dozens of union supporters could ring through the chamber.
Indiana State Police stood outside the doors, making sure no protesters tried to enter the House. But at least two Democratic representatives also stood there, whipping up the crowd. Those chants lasted throughout the two-hour debate. Protesters were mostly silent when Democrats spoke, but drowned out many Republicans.
“The sky will not fall the day after right to work passes. It just will not,” said Rep. Sue Ellspermann, R-Ferdinand. “Right to work is clearly a job creation strategy as companies seek to locate to those states.”
Minority Democrats complained that majority Republicans shot down their attempt to send the issue to a statewide referendum, while also voting down every other Democratic amendment and advancing the bill too quickly.
“If you’re going to have a real, sincere, honest debate, the first thing it requires is an open mind,” said Rep. Kreg Battles, D-Vincennes.
Republicans and their business lobby allies – chiefly, the Indiana Chamber of Commerce – say Indiana needs to become the first state since Oklahoma in 2001 to put a right to work law on its books.
They say about a third of business site selectors list having a right to work law among their top considerations when selecting where to locate, and strike Indiana off their lists because the state has lacked one.
Meanwhile, Democrats and their labor backers say such a law would undercut the finances and bargaining ability of unions that protect workers’ wages, benefits and safety.
They said it’s unfair to require unions that represent entire labor forces in negotiations with businesses to help those who do not pay their share.
“We are gambling with the lives of every single person sitting out in that hallway,” Battles said, pointing to protesters. “I would say without a referendum, without the people’s input, this is too important to take that kind of high-risk, high-stakes gamble.”
Rep. Wendy McNamara, R-Mount Vernon, had not staked out a public position on right to work until Wednesday’s debate. She said she had decided to support the bill.
“What I did campaign on was jobs, jobs and more jobs – doing what I could do to foster and help create opportunities,” she said, adding that it’s worth supporting the bill “if a yes vote on right to work will get one, two or 10 companies to say, look at this community, we are open and ready for business.”
She said she could not deny those who are currently paying dues but do not want to continue doing so “the freedom of choice; the freedom from fear of repercussion.”
As she made that case, the protesters started chanting: “Union busting!”
Southwestern Indiana’s votes in favor of the bill were cast by Ellspermann, McNamara and Rep. Suzanne Crouch, R-Evansville.
The area’s “no” votes came from Battles, Rep. Gail Riecken, D-Evansville, and one of the few Republicans to cross party lines, Rep. Ron Bacon, R-Chandler.
Not voting was Rep. Mark Messmer, R-Jasper, who runs a business where his employees are members of a union and asked – to the dismay of Democrats who jeered – to be excused from voting. The other member who did not vote was Rep. Phil Pflum, D-Milton, who is ill.
The end of the Democratic boycott signaled the conclusion of any serious effort to stall or stop right to work legislation.
Because the Indiana Constitution requires two-thirds of all members to be present in order for the House to conduct business, the absence 35 Democrats for nine days in the session’s first four weeks was enough to stall the measure, even though Democrats were being fined $1,000 a day by Bosma.
It is now not as much a question of if, but when the bill that takes effect March 14, 2012 will be signed into law.
The measure, House Bill 1001, now moves to the Senate. Its passage there, and advancement on to Daniels’ desk, is all but certain, since Republicans have a 37-13 supermajority in that chamber and have already passed an identical bill, 28-22.
In the Senate, all three Southwestern Indiana lawmakers – Sen. Vaneta Becker, R-Evansville, Sen. Jim Tomes, R-Wadesville, and Sen. Lindel Hume, D-Princeton – have opposed the right to work bill.
It’s not clear whether the Senate will have time to complete its work on the bill before lawmakers leave Indianapolis for a four-day break next Wednesday. They’re leaving because the Super Bowl is in Indianapolis on Feb. 5. Union supporters have indicated they could seize the moment as an opportunity to try to grab national attention.
Still, lawmakers have until 2012’s 10-week session ends March 14 to complete their work.
It’s a fight that has captured national attention. States in the south and west have tended to adopt right to work law, but Indiana would become the first Rust Belt state to do so – a notable move since the area has traditionally maintained a strong union presence.
Indiana has been a right to work state before. A Republican-led General Assembly approved the law in 1957. Then, in 1965, when Democrats had taken control of the House and Senate, they repealed it.