February 23, 2010

RE: Labor Vote – Right to Repair Legislation, SB 2268

Dear Senator,

I too have heard the radio ads. For weeks I wondered in traffic how anyone could be against “Right to Repair” legislation. Having a Legislative Director and countless friends and union members named Sullivan, hearing those ads, I could never be against a mechanic named “Sully.” However, deeper analysis of the so-called “Right to Repair” legislation unveiled a level of Orwellian marketing that made the Bush Administration’s “Clear Skies Initiative” look like the greenest piece of federal legislation since the advent of Earth Day. Of course, we know the truth about the “Clear Skies Initiative;” it pollutes the skies. Unlike Bush’s Orwellian campaign, which made worse the problem its catchy label would have us believe it solved, close examination of the so-called “Right to Repair” legislation shows that it seeks to solve a problem that does not really exist. We all have our mechanics, and we all see their lots full and their businesses doing just fine without this legislation. In the down economy, people are now resorting to going to their mechanic to repair cars that they would have turned in during better times. Auto mechanic lots across Massachusetts are able to fix every one of them. Has anyone ever heard of someone who actually could not get their car fixed? Anywhere? Ever?

You have hopefully received materials from the United Auto Workers and other unions regarding this misleading legislation, which inform you of the many falsehoods and inaccuracies prevalent in the campaign for SB 2268. The Massachusetts AFL-CIO urges you to oppose this legislation because it does not actually help those it pretends to help. Intellectual property laws are some of the most complex and important laws on our books. There is a reason for that. Those companies that invest the time and resources – both human and financial – to develop something useful need to be assured that they are not put at a competitive disadvantage in expending those efforts. If an auto parts manufacturer invents a part, they have every right and expectation that their competitors should not be allowed to pirate that information for free. If competitors are given intellectual property at no cost to them it is the ultimate example of getting something for nothing. That being said, no mechanic needs the intellectual property to manufacture auto parts in order to repair the automobiles of you, me, or any of your constituents. The information needed to repair automobiles is widely available on the Internet and other easily-accessed resources. That is why no one ever has a problem getting their car fixed.

The Right to Repair legislation is not about fixing cars. The next person in Massachusetts who says their car cannot be repaired will be the first. This is not about small businesses or independent mechanics. The two largest associations in Massachusetts representing them, the Automotive Service Association and New England Service Station and Automotive Repair Association, are opposed to this legislation. This is about big chain repair shops like Midas, NAPA, Jiffy Lube, AutoZone and others wanting to pirate intellectual property so they can profit by making cheaper parts, likely in the kinds of low-wage, worker-exploiting countries that have received too many American manufacturing jobs already, and fix the same cars they can currently fix at a higher rate of return.

Similar legislation has been considered and roundly rejected in seven states and the U.S. Congress time and time and time again. If this was about Massachusetts’ small businesses and “Sully” the mechanic, we would not be the eighth state to consider it, and hopefully the eighth to reject it. In other states, such as New Jersey, this legislation has been rushed through one chamber or another because it sounds so good. But once legislators find out what the legislation really means, they hit the brakes on “Right to Repair.” This is clearly a national campaign and Massachusetts should follow suit by rejecting this Orwellian effort to benefit large national chains at the expense of the very independent retailers and mechanics it’s pretending to benefit. The Massachusetts AFL-CIO urges you to stand with our state’s small mechanic and auto parts businesses, stand with the American workers who make these parts throughout the country and can least afford to lose their jobs now, and with the companies who invest the time and resources in inventing these parts. Stand up by saying no to giving the quote-unquote “Right to Repair” coalition what they want – which is something for nothing to solve a non-existent problem so they can pad their pockets.

All votes relating to these matters may be considered Labor Votes and calculated into Labor Voting Records upon which endorsements and levels of support are determined. Thank you.

Respectfully,

Robert J. Haynes

President