AUGUSTA — The Maine Senate has killed a pair of bills labeled by opponents as anti-union.

Senators voted 21-13 Thursday against a right-to-work bill, which would have made it illegal for a private employer to require employees to join a labor organization or pay union dues or fees as a condition of employment.

By the same tally, senators rejected a bill that sought to repeal a law allowing public employers to deduct service fees from employees’ pay in lieu of union dues.

Democratic Senator John Patrick of Rumford said right-to-work was a bad idea in 1948 when Maine voters rejected it by a 2-to-1 margin, and it’s still a bad idea.

Republicans say the two bills would have done more than perhaps any other bill to bring jobs to Maine.