NCGA legislation threatens right-to-work protections

Democratic state lawmakers in the North Carolina General Assembly have introduced bills in both the House and Senate that would repeal protections instated by North Carolina’s right-to-work law, which will be celebrating its’ 75th anniversary on March 18. 

Ratified on March 18, 1947, North Carolina’s right-to-work law is a part of the General Statutes. The measure outlawed requiring union membership as a condition of hiring or of continued employment. It bans the idea of a “closed shop,” in which union membership is a necessary part of getting and keeping a job.

“North Carolina workers deserve the freedom to choose for themselves whether to join a union or pay union dues,” Luke Farley, North Carolina Labor Commissioner, told the Carolina Journal. “Protecting individual choice fosters a competitive business environment that attracts higher-paying jobs to our state. As Labor Commissioner, I’m committed to maintaining North Carolina’s status as a right-to-work state.”

HB 256, introduced by Rep. Zach Hawkins, D-Durham, allows for public sector employees to have collective bargaining rights. According to the National Labor Relations Board, collective bargaining rights allow employees to bargain through a representative concerning wages, hours, and terms and conditions of employment.

Now more than ever, it’s time to lift the prohibition on collective bargaining for public employees in North Carolina. I introduced this bill in our last session and this year because I believe that our teachers, firefighters, police officers, and dedicated public servants should have the same rights as any other worker in this state.

We’ve seen a near-unprecedented concentration of wealth and market share in the hands of a few companies – collective bargaining helps to level the playing field in the private sector. Now that these same companies have an outsized influence in government – including in the firing of public employees around the country – NC should rise to the occasion and give our public employees a seat at the table. It’s only fair.

Rep. Zach Hawkins, D-Durham

In addition to HB 256, two bills — SB 120 and 169 — were introduced in the Senate by Democratic Sens. Lisa Grafstein, D-Wake, Graig Meyer, D-Orange, and Natalie Murdock, D-Durham.

SB 120 allows labor unions and organizations to enter into labor agreements, but it does not make membership in a labor union prohibitive to employment. SB 169 amends the general statutes to allow union dues to be tax deductible. 

“It is hereby declared to be the public policy of North Carolina that the right. of persons to work shall not be denied or abridged. It is further declared to be the public policy of North Carolina that the rights of labor organizations and associations to enter into labor agreements shall not be denied or abridged,” reads SB 120. “No person shall be required by an employer to abstain or refrain from membership in any labor union or labor organization as a condition of employment or continuation of employment.” 

SB 120 effectively removes the language in the current version of the law stating that the right to work shall not be modified because of membership in any labor union, organization, or association. It also removes sections 95.79, 95.80, and 95.82 of the General Statutes. Sections 80 and 82 of the General Statutes prohibit the requirement of the payment of dues or the membership of a labor organization as a condition of employment. 

“SB120 would eliminate certain state regulation of the relationship between an employer and a union,” Grafstein told the Carolina Journal. “Current law bars an employer and a union from contracting or agreeing to have a traditional union shop, where employees are members of the union. This bill would not require any employer to agree to exclusivity; it would simply allow the parties to include that contract term if they agree, just like any other two parties may enter contracts on the terms they agree on, short of criminal conduct.”

Section 79 of the General Statutes prohibits agreements between employers and labor unions that would bar nonmembers from employment or require membership as a condition of employment. It also removes language that places conditions on the purchase of agriculture products, or the terms to purchase agriculture products, or the terms of an agreement not to pursue litigation based on an agricultural producer’s status as a union or nonunion employer or regardless of a deal to with a labor union or labor organization, any provisions to the contrary are unenforceable and are not in line with public policy concerning trade or commerce in North Carolina. 

  “The bill would provide balance to the bargaining relationship, giving workers improved ability to act collectively,” continued Grafstein. “Union jobs tend to be good paying jobs, and the workforce stability a union provides is good for business, particularly at a time when companies are struggling to attract and retain workers.” 

Experts assert that rather than pushing for pro-union legislation, lawmakers should be working to protect Right to Work within the state constituion.

“North Carolina’s Right to Work law has protected workers’ freedom and fueled our state’s economic success since 1947,” Donald Bryson, CEO of the John Locke Foundation, told the Carolina Journal. “These bills are a clear attempt by Big Labor to undermine worker choice and force unionization on our workforce. Lawmakers should reject these attacks and instead move to enshrine Right to Work and other worker and taxpayer protections in the state constitution to safeguard North Carolina’s pro-growth, pro-freedom environment for generations to come.”

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