INDIANAPOLIS — Hundreds of angry union workers streamed into the Indiana Statehouse on Tuesday and loudly booed lawmakers getting ready for the 2012 session.
The target of their wrath: The contentious “right to work” legislation that Republican leaders have promised to push through no matter how loud and angry the debate gets.
Busloads of protesters waited in the cold rain to clear security before gathering in the hallways, steps and stairways of the Statehouse. Inside, legislators were holding a one-day organizational meeting.
As the House, and then the Senate, were gaveled into session, the protesters launched into a series of loud chants, beginning with, “Shame shame on you.”
Their loudest ire seemed to be directed at Republican House Speaker Brian Bosma and and his GOP counterpart, Senate President Pro Tem David Long.
Those two had called a surprise press conference on Monday to announce their top legislative priority: a so-called “right to work” bill that would ban Indiana employers from negotiating contracts with labor unions that require workers to pay union dues as part of their employment.
While labor leaders argue such a bill would start a downward spiral of wages for all workers, Bosma and Long contend the bill is needed to lure new employers into the state.
Bosma left the loaded “right to work” words out his opening remarks to House members Tuesday, but said Indiana needed to act aggressively to knock down its 9-percent unemployment rate.
He promised civility in the coming debate over the issue, but also told House members that he faced a choice for the 2012 session of being brave or being safe.
“For me, it’s better to be brave.”
That’s not how union members who gathered at the Statehouse portrayed the choice, though. Dan Arnett, a steelworker from Logansport, said the bill was a union-killer in disguise. He took a vacation day from work to join the protest. “I was going to do anything I needed to get here,” he said.
David Hoyt, a union carpenter from New Palestine, said the bill should be called the “right to work for less” bill.
“We’re all for creating good jobs but they need to be good-paying jobs,” Hoyt said. “This bill might bring in a few more jobs, but they’d be jobs with low wages.”
Republicans control both the House and the Senate, but some legislators said the bill wasn’t a done-deal. State Rep. Mike Karickhoff, a Kokomo Republican whose district is dominated by the auto industry and heavy with union auto workers, said he hasn’t made up his mind on how to vote.
“I want to hear the testimony,” Karickhoff said, referring to a legislative committee expected to hold another round of hearings on the issue. During a series of hearings earlier this year, conducted by a Republican-dominated legislative study committee, there was conflicting testimony on the economic impact of “right to work” bills in other states.
State Rep. Clyde Kersey, a Terre Haute Democrat, said the bill could backfire on Republicans in the 2012 election. Kersey said Republicans aggravated some voters with last session’s aggressive legislative agenda that included GOP-backed bills that cut off funding for Planned Parenthood, reduced spending on programs for the elderly, cut K-12 education funding and put new limits on teacher contracts.
“This is a pretty divisive issue,” Kersey said of the “right to work” bill. “Look at all the people they’ve already made mad. And now they’ve got the unions going? That means you’ve got a lot more people feeling energized in the next election.”