John Beland

Members of the House Labor, Industrial and Rehabilitative Services Committee From: John Beland, Citizen, Gilford NH Subject: Testimony in Opposition to HB 1704 I am writing to express my firm opposition to HB 1704. This legislation is a fundamentally flawed proposal that threatens to destabilize New Hampshire’s private & public sector workforce and undermine the proven framework of collective bargaining. Why HB 1704 is Detrimental to New Hampshire: Erosion of Workplace Stability: Collective bargaining provides a predictable, unified framework for labor relations. By encouraging individual bargaining, HB 1704 would create a chaotic "patchwork" of disparate contracts within a single department, leading to resentment among staff and a breakdown in workplace morale. Administrative Inefficiency: Managing dozens or hundreds of individual employment negotiations instead of one master agreement is a fiscal and administrative nightmare for local governments. This bill would inevitably lead to increased legal costs and a heavier bureaucratic burden on taxpayers. A Threat to Public Safety Standards: While some first responders are currently carved out of this language, the "divide and conquer" nature of this bill sets a dangerous precedent. Weakening the bargaining power of any public sector group makes it harder to maintain the high standards for wages and safety equipment that attract top-tier talent to our state. Undermining the "Strength in Numbers" Principle: The primary goal of this bill is to fragment the workforce. When workers are stripped of their collective voice, they lose the ability to advocate for the safety and operational improvements that keep our communities running smoothly. Closing Argument: HB 1704 is not about "flexibility"—it is a strategic attempt to weaken the middle class and dismantle the protections that ensure public service remains a viable, professional career path. For the sake of our workers and the stability of our state services, I strongly urge the committee to vote ITL (Inexpedient to Legislate) on HB 1704.