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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Sunday, June 21, 2009

Lingle says she will veto union card bill


Advertiser News Services

HILO, Hawaiçi — Gov. Linda Lingle said she will veto a bill making it easier for workers to form labor unions.

The bill would send a signal that the state is making it harder for people to do business, Lingle said, speaking on the Big Island. She said it would favor labor unions too much.
The measure permits a union to be certified if a majority of workers sign union authorization cards. Under current labor law, a company can demand a secret ballot election supervised by the federal government after being presented the union cards.
The Republican governor vetoed a similar measure last year.
The majority Democratic Legislature will have to decide whether to attempt an override of her planned veto.
Her comments came as her administration struggles with public bargaining sessions and lawsuits from the state’s public-sector unions over furloughs and other concessions to help balance the state budget.
It's also came during a week that Hawaiçi's ranking as the fifth-worst state in which to do business made news.
Directorship magazine ranked Hawaiçi 46th, ahead of New Mexico, Kentucky, Rhode Island and West Virginia, based on eight major indexes of attractiveness to business, including labor costs, taxes, litigation, economy and education.