Terri Donovan

Good afternoon, HB 1704 does not address any current problem. RSA 273-A, the Nh Public Employee Labor Relations Act, has been in effect for more than 50 years and has served employers and employees well in maintaining a harmonious workplace and an orderly process to set working conditions, wages, and benefits. To gut RSA 273-A will create an indeterminable amount of disarray in our public workplaces. There is accountability now with contracts going through a process with a majority of the public employees selecting their exclusive representative, an exclusive representative who negotiates with the employer with both sides having to approve a contract, and then ultimately the legislative body (voters, city council, or a board of aldermen) needing to approve a contract. All in full view. Negotiating with individuals will have those positions tucked in the operating budget, not in full view of the public, and will lead to disparate treatment, favoritism, and an extraordinary amount of work of the part of the employer negotiating and tracking individual contracts. I have been on both sides of the union/management relationship and the amount of unintended consequences with this bill are immeasurable. If this is just an attack on all public employees (except police, fire and corrections) it is unacceptable. Please vote Inexpedient to Legislate on HB 1704.