News / Upcoming Events
Originally published on Wednesday, March 25, 2009 in the Local & State category of The Fayetteville Observer.
Bill
targets union bargaining ban
By Paul Woolverton
Staff writer
RALEIGH — State Sen. Larry Shaw and Rep. Rick Glazier
of Fayetteville have filed legislation to repeal a law that bans city, county
and state workers from collective bargaining.
The move could lead to unionization among more government employees. The
proposed change would permit unions to negotiate with government employers,
but it would be illegal to strike.
Government representatives are wary of the idea.
Supporters at a news conference on Tuesday said that unions would lead to
happier workers, less turnover and give employees more of a voice.
Several workers at the news conference said they needed collective bargaining
to negotiate health care benefits and ensure due process.
Health benefits are a key issue for state employees, said Lou Plummer, asked
to comment by phone about the proposed legislation. Plummer is a computer
technician who works in Harnett County and whose wife teaches in Cumberland
County.
The legislature is considering raising some costs of health benefits to
keep the program from running out of money, Plummer said.
A union could help an employee who thinks he is being unfairly disciplined
or fired, he said.
“North Carolina is a right-to-work state, which means, basically,
short of discrimination, any employee can be terminated at the will of his
or her boss, without regards to seniority, past job performance, and with
out any review by any outside agency,” Plummer said.
State Sen. Doug Berger said if state employees had been allowed to negotiate
years ago, they might have won provisions that would have helped them avoid
trouble with their pension fund.
But Kelli Kukura, a lobbyist for the N.C. League of Municipalities, which
represents city and town governments, said the repeal is a bad idea.
Cities and counties already treat their workers well, she said. Unions would
drive up costs, add additional layers of grievances and lead to what she
called “unproductive, negotiation processes.”
Dale Iman, the city manager of Fayetteville, said he has not seen the legislation
so he could not comment on its specifics. But, he said, he worked with municipal
unions for 20 years in other states and that they can take time and effort
to work with.
He said they can pull managers and employees off their normal duties for
matters such as contract negotiations and grievance hearings.
He agreed that the unions can limit turnover and that some employees may
be happier.
“There’s certain things that the unions like to see, and one
of those is that everybody gets treated the same,” he said. “That
means that good performers are treated the same as poor performers.”
The legislation is House Bill 750, Senate Bill 427, and Senate Bill 178.
Rep. Elmer Floyd of Fayetteville and Rep. Marvin Lucas of Spring Lake have
co-sponsored the legislation
