New Hampshire led the American colonies 250 years ago by adopt a constitution that created an independent government before anyone else. So it’s fitting that in 2026 New Hampshire could achieve another first for independence.
Like all Americans, government employees have the constitutional right to free speech and free association. In 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Janus vs. AFSCME that non-union public employees could not be compelled to pay dues or “agency fees” to labor unions. Since then, the state and local governments have collected dues only from union members.
But this didn’t fix the free association problem entirely. Non-union public employees who work in collective bargaining units have no choice but to accept pay and benefits packages negotiated by union leadership, even if those packages are not in their best interests.
House Bill 1704 would allow non-union public employees the option to negotiate their own compensation packages.
To be clear, the bill would not affect any union member. Nor would it force non-union members to negotiate their own packages.
For all union members and for non-members who like the package they have, nothing would change.
The bill merely allows non-union public employees to choose a one-on-one negotiation if they think they could create a compensation package that better fits their individual or family needs.
The bill would apply to all public employees except law enforcement officers and firefighters. In those fields, creating uniform pay packages based on seniority and chain of command makes more sense.
Opponents testified that HB 1704 would offer no help in addressing state and local government labor shortages because those shortages are caused purely by low pay and benefits. But that’s not what research suggests.
Union-negotiated contracts for public employees tend to tie pay and benefit increases to seniority. The way to move up the pay scale is to stay on the job longer. But young adults don’t want to spend their careers in one job.
A 2024 Deloitte survey of worker preferences found that only 6% of Gen. Z workers said their primary career goal was to reach a senior leadership position.
Instead of a decades-long career track, younger workers want the opportunity to develop portable job skills. Seventy percent of Gen. Z workers and 59% of Millennials said they take time once a week to develop skills needed to advance their careers.
Nearly 1/3 of Gen. Z workers and 17% of Millennials say they plan to switch jobs within the next three years.
Career Builder analyzed resumes of job applicants and sorted them by generation. The revealed preferences were stark.
Gen. Z spends an average of two years and three months in one job. For Millennials it’s two years, nine months; for Gen. X it’s five years, two months, and for Baby Boomers it’s eight years, three months.
Most surveys show that younger workers would trade some pay for a better work-life balance. But there are signs that inflation has shifted general preferences toward higher starting pay, at least for some Gen. Z workers. A 2024 survey found that 46% of Gen. Z respondents prioritized wages over work-life balance.
Most Gen. Z employees prioritize autonomy above all. A 2021 survey of Gen. Z workers found that 83% listed autonomy or the ability to work in a high-trust environment as the most important aspect of workplace culture, followed by compensation that rewards performance, then strong and visible leadership.
Does that sound like the typical public sector work environment?
It’s no wonder that a 2023 Axios survey found that only 14% of Gen. Z respondents said they’d want to spend their career in government or non-profit service. Only 8% said societal impact was a career priority, while 49% said personal fulfillment was.
Universal workplace contracts that prioritize seniority, benefits, longevity and societal impact clearly conflict with what younger Americans say they prefer. Allowing public employees the option to negotiate contracts that best suit their needs and desires could very well be a valuable recruiting tool for the public sector.
While not forcing any employees to pick one path or the other, HB 1704 would create an option for non-union employees. Those who would prefer to tailor a compensation package to their own or their family’s needs would be free to give it a try.
Allowing that level of autonomy for public employees would be a first in the nation. Were New Hampshire to achieve that first in 2026 would be a unique branding and marketing opportunity for state and local governments in the “live free or die” state.
