Daniels defends right-to-work in 'State' speech (AP)

INDIANAPOLIS – Gov. Mitch Daniels defended divisive right-to-work legislation that he only recently put his name behind, while asking House Democrats to end their boycott of the measure.

Daniels spent a large amount of his final "State of the State" speech Tuesday night touting the national reputation Indiana has developed over his seven years in office, as well as a modest 2012 legislative agenda ranging from more money victims of the Indiana State Fair stage collapse to a statewide smoking ban.

But he dedicated roughly four minutes of his half-hour speech to explaining his evolution in support of right-to-work this year. Daniels made no mention of the issue in his annual speech last year, and urged lawmakers to hold off lest it derail other legislation like an overhaul of the state's education system.

Indiana could become the first state in more than a decade to approve a ban on private contracts that require workers to pay union fees for representation. Indiana House and Senate Republican leaders have made it their top legislative priority this year, and Daniels has campaigned vigorously for it since announcing last month that he would support it the measure.

Republican lawmakers and guests who filled the House chamber applauded heartily throughout the speech, but House and Senate Democrats largely held their applause.

More than a dozen House Democrats skipped Daniels' speech in a rare move. Democratic House Minority Leader Patrick Bauer said afterward he left it to each lawmaker in his 40-member caucus to decide whether they would attend the speech.

Hundreds of union protesters packed the halls outside the House chamber, booing as Daniels walked in for his speech and chanting "Shame on you!" as he left. The protesters' boos and chants could be heard through the glass panes of the House chamber as he spoke about right-to-work.

Although lawmakers are only five days into the 10-week legislative session, the right-to-work battle in the House has stalled most work. House Democrats ended a three-day boycott over the measure Monday only to stall business again Tuesday following a party-line vote in favor of the labor bill earlier in the day.

In his final annual address to the Legislature, Daniels argued that other states win out in competition for new business because of their right-to-work laws.

"Too often we never get a chance, because a right-to-work law is a requirement. Especially in this poor national economy, a state needs every edge it can get," he said.

But he also took care not to downplay Indiana in a speech that was otherwise laden with plaudits about his work over the last seven years in office. Daniels is term-limited against running for re-election in November.

Toward the end of his right-to-work pitch, Daniels relayed an allegory about two politicians written in 1861. One Democrat and one Republican go to Kentucky to settle a political dispute in a knife fight. At the close of the story, Daniels takes two subtle shots at House Democrats — telling them they should stay in the state as well as in the House chamber.

Indiana House Democrats left the state for five weeks last year to block the right-to-work measure. This year, though they have stalled the still-young 2012 session, they have remained in Indianapolis.

"And we think we have disagreements!" Daniels says. "When we do, I hope we'll keep them not only in state, but also in this chamber, where the people's business is supposed to be settled."

When there are the numbers needed to conduct business, Republican House Speaker Brian Bosma has acted quickly to advance the right-to-work measure. Tuesday's speedy approval of the measure in committee, though, appeared to backfire with another Democratic boycott.

The Legislature's Democratic leaders said Daniels should have used the speech to bring the two parties closer together rather than drive a wedge further between them over the right-to-work bill.

"I was mostly disappointed he missed an opportunity he could have used tonight to bring Democrats and Republicans together he could have used the to bring House and Senate together to talk about how we are really going to serve the needs of Indiana," Democratic Senate Minority Leader Vi Simpson said after the speech.

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Tom LoBianco can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/tomlobianco

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Indiana House Democrats end boycott of right-to-work bill (Reuters)

INDIANAPOLIS (Reuters) – Democrats in the Indiana state House of Representatives on Monday ended a three-day boycott blocking Republican-backed right-to-work legislation that opponents view as an assault on unions.

House Democratic leader Pat Bauer said the three-day boycott by most Democrats last week gave them a chance to circulate information about the measure around Indiana.

Republicans hold a 60-40 majority in the Indiana House, which needs a quorum of two-thirds of its members to be brought to order. With 98 representatives present on Monday, the bill was assigned to a committee for discussion Tuesday.

An Indiana Senate committee on Friday advanced a right-to-work bill to the full Senate for consideration.

Under the proposed right-to-work law, employees at unionized private workplaces would not be required to pay union dues. Supporters say the move would attract jobs to Indiana. Critics call it union busting.

Last year, House Democrats fled the state to neighboring Illinois to avoid voting on a similar right-to-work bill and other legislation they viewed as anti-labor and anti-public education. The bill died, and other bills were altered.

If the right-to-work proposal is approved, Indiana would be the first state in the industrial heartland of the United States to adopt such a law. It is in force in 22 other states, mostly in the South and West.

(Reporting by Susan Guyett; Writing by David Bailey; Editing by Greg McCune)

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Walkout by Indiana Democrats stalls right-to-work bill (Reuters)

INDIANAPOLIS (Reuters) – Indiana House Democrats met behind closed doors on Wednesday, delaying the start of the 2012 legislative session and blocking action on controversial right-to-work legislation backed by Republicans.

House Democratic Leader Pat Bauer defended the walkout, saying his members had been forced to boycott the first day of the new session to thwart a Republican effort to quickly ram the anti-union measure through the house.

Only additional hearings on the right-to-work bill, including public meetings around the state, would break the impasse, Bauer said.

A spokesman for House Speaker Brian Bosma, who tried unsuccessfully to bring the house to order on Wednesday, said Republicans eventually adjourned for the day without concluding any business but planned to reconvene on Thursday.

Without the Democrats in attendance, the House does not have the quorum it needs to conduct business.

Under the proposed right-to-work law, employees at unionized private workplaces would not be required to pay union dues. Supporters say the move would attract jobs to Indiana. Critics call it union busting.

Last year, House Democrats fled the state to neighboring Illinois to avoid voting on a similar right-to-work bill and other legislation they viewed as anti-labor and anti-public education. The bill died, and other bills were altered.

The absentees were fined and a bill that raised the amount of money that could be collected from absent legislators was enacted.

Should the Democrats return, the numbers are in Republican's favor with a 60-40 majority in the House and a supermajority of 37-13 in the senate.

Bosma said there would be no fines involved with Wednesday's absences but criticized the Democrats for failing to do the jobs they were elected to do.

If the bill passes, Indiana would become the first right-to-work state in an area considered the country's traditional manufacturing belt.

The bill's sponsor, Republican Indiana State Representative Jerry Torr, has been introducing similar legislation since 2004. He said the bill was about "fairness and freedom" for individual employees to decide whether they want to associate with a union.

Democrats argue that such laws lead to lower wages for all. In an article circulated by Democratic lawmakers, University of Notre Dame professors Barbara Fick and Marty Wolfson argued that trying to attract businesses to a state based on low wages undermines living standards for most workers.

"Most people would agree that lowering wages and benefits for Indiana workers is not the best way to support economic development in Indiana," Fick and Wolfson wrote.

Fick, who teaches law, and Wolfson, who teaches economics, are both affiliated with the Higgins Labor Studies Program at Notre Dame.

(Editing by James B. Kelleher and Cynthia Johnston)

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