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Right to Work Defeated in Big Sky State
The Montana House of Representatives recently defeated an effort to enact right-to-work legislation, a victory for workers in the state that happened in no small part due to the efforts of the Teamsters and other unions who organized their members and successfully lobbied lawmakers not to turn their back on hardworking Montanans.
In the wake of the 2020 elections that gave Republicans control of both the governorship and the state legislature in the Big Sky State, leaders at Local 2 and 190 knew they had their work cut out for them. So they used new technology to engage members. They held weekly legislation updates that were shared with members. They also crafted digital content to get the message out.
“The vote to move this bill forward was a slap in the face for working families across our state,” said Erin Foley, Local 2’s Secretary-Treasurer. “This was the most extreme anti-worker bill Montana has ever seen. History was made when HB 251 was defeated and I am truly blessed to have been a part of it.”
The measure’s defeat would not have happened without the Teamsters and other unions working with Democratic and Republican allies to defeat it. Jim Larson, Local 190’s Secretary-Treasurer, said legislators understood what was at stake if right to work became law.
“What they are seeing here is that Montana is a rural state and jobs are important,” he said. “And at the end of the day, both sides realized that right to work isn’t helping anybody.”
Several other anti-union bills that attacked public sector employees also met their demise at the same time, including a measure that attempted to insert government-mandated restrictions into the workplace in order to tell union members how they could or couldn’t support their union.
Again, it was Teamster members and other labor allies who explained to lawmakers how such government overreach was bad for workers and for the state of Montana.
Given the Montana Legislature’s biennial meeting schedule, workers won’t have to worry about these bills coming back for another two years. But Larson said unions will be ready and know who their friends are next time.
“The Teamsters don’t support Democrats or Republicans, we support pro-worker candidates,” he said. “And now we have a record of who is willing to stand up for workers and who isn’t.”