Republicans on a Louisiana House committee advanced bills Thursday aimed at weakening public-sector unions, moving to outlaw collective bargaining for teachers and to install penalties for performing union-related activities during working hours.
The bills — part of a in the Legislature to restrict union power, limit benefits for laid-off and injured workers and strengthen employers' hands — advanced from the House Labor and Industrial Relations Committee along party lines, with Democrats opposing them and Republicans in support. They move to the full House as the legislative process nears the halfway mark.
One of the bills, , would require public sector employees to hold "secret ballot" elections for their unions to be formally recognized. It would also outlaw picketing and striking in the interest of collective bargaining by public workers and impose criminal penalties for violations. would bar those employees from performing any union-related activities during work hours.
A third bill, that would outlaw collective bargaining for public sector workers but allow it for police officers and firefighters also advanced to the House floor Thursday.
Lawmakers who supported the legislation, including Rep. Raymond Crews, R-Bossier City and the labor committee chair, described the bills as a way to even the playing field between workers and employers. He insisted they were not "anti-union" measures, noting that the legislation is prospective, meaning it will apply to all future unions and contract renewals.
"I don't think any single one of us could be able to go to our constituents and say, 'Look, your tax dollars are going to fund these union activities,' and get a response that was positive," Crews said in his closing comments on HB 571.
Crews and other supporters painted an image of public dollars being spent on politically charged union activities and argued for curtailing that practice.
But dozens of union representatives and members — and a total of 93 people who submitted cards in opposition to Crews' HB 956 compared to six who filed support cards — lambasted the legislation as part of an anti-worker push by national interest groups.
They said the bills would further reduce unions' already-limited policymaking clout at the Capitol while eroding their ability to advocate for things like worker wages, vacation and health care benefits.
Stephen Delie, a Michigan-based  for conservative labor policy group Workers for Opportunity, stumped for both bills. His presence drew the ire of Chad Major, president of the Professional Firefighters Association of Louisiana.
"This guy from Michigan shows up and he’s paid by the Koch brothers and gives to the Pelican Institute and y'all listen to whatever garbage they spew out," Major said. "The gentleman from Michigan can get on a plane and go back up north."
It was unclear whether Delie's group has actually received money from the Koch brothers, powerful conservative donors who fund the Pelican Institute. That Louisiana-based group advocates for conservative policies and supported both bills advanced Thursday by the labor committee.
The bills advanced by the committee Thursday would affect workers in jobs funded by taxpayer money, such as teachers and municipal and state employees. While other labor bills moving through the Capitol apply to police and firefighter unions, Crews' HB 571 exempts those groups.
The House on Wednesday approved the bills to  mandatory lunch breaks for teen workers, reduce unemployment benefits and trim payments to people who can't work due to workplace injuries. That legislation moves now to the Senate.
Editor's Note, 4/26/24: This story has been updated to note that House Bill 572 does not apply to firefighters and law enforcement and to note the latest status of that bill.
