FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 25, 2010
Contact: Connie Wilson
[email protected]
COALITION FOR N.C. JOBS REMINDS SEN. HAGAN OF HER
PROMISE TO VOTE AGAINST COLLECTIVE BARGAINING
Special Interest Groups in Washington, D.C., have been working hard to get Senator Kay Hagan to break
her campaign promise to North Carolina voters. The Washington special interest groups are encouraging
Senator Hagan to use a tricky Senate rule [cloture] to force public sector collective bargaining on her
home state. A vote for cloture by Senator Hagan and her fellow Senators will guarantee enactment into
law of S3194, The Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act of 2009. This is the legislation
that would force collective bargaining on North Carolina public safety employees, over-ruling North
Carolina’s existing ban on collective bargaining. The U.S. Senate is expected to consider the issue as part
of an unrelated bill during the week of May 24, before the Memorial Day break.
In her 2008 campaign, Senator Hagan made it clear that she opposed the federal government mandating
that North Carolina state and local governments allow collective bargaining for their employees. “Once
I'm elected to the U.S. Senate, I want you to note that I will never support a bill at the federal level that
mandates states allow collective bargaining of state government employees. I truly believe that's a state’s
rights issue,” Hagan said in a September 2008 conversation with a reporter from the Greensboro News &
Record. “That’s my strong belief, and that’s how I will vote.”
The bill would require states, counties and cities to bargain with labor unions on behalf of all law
enforcement officers, firefighters and EMS workers, thus over-ruling North Carolina’s existing ban on
collective bargaining. The bill tramples on sound North Carolina law and is another unfunded mandate
from the federal government at a time when most states and local governments are struggling with budget
deficits, dwindling revenues and rising unemployment rates.
“We all value the dedicated service of our law enforcement officers, firefighters and EMS workers, and
we want to protect their rights,” said Edgecombe County Sheriff James Knight, president of the N.C.
Sheriffs’ Association. “Granting collective bargaining rights to our public safety workers does not
improve the quality of service that we provide. It simply makes it much more expensive to provide the
same level of service that our citizens deserve and are accustomed to.”
The bill is being pushed by national labor union organizations and special interest groups, who are putting
intense pressure on Sen. Hagan to vote for cloture, the tricky Senate rule that would force the Senate to
vote on the issue. Because it will ensure passage of this legislation that Senator Hagan said that she
opposes —a vote for cloture will be a vote for the bill.
“We know that Sen. Hagan is under tremendous pressure from special interest groups in Washington and
from congressional members of her own party to support this bill, but we are proud that she took such a
strong stand opposing this legislation during her campaign,” said High Point Mayor Rebecca Smothers.
“We appreciate that she supports our longstanding North Carolina law, and we expect her to keep her
campaign promise and vote against allowing this bill to move forward by voting against a cloture
motion.”
If passed, the bill would overrule laws in more than 30 states that have restrictions or total bans on public
employee labor union collective bargaining. Many of those are “Right to Work” states that produced the
best job growth and job retention in the last two decades.
The Coalition for North Carolina Jobs is opposed to this labor union bill. The coalition is comprised of
public and private employers across our State (list below) who want to protect employees and employers
from unnecessary burdens caused by out of state labor union officials, while providing our citizens a safe
and affordable state in which to live. Find out more about them at www.coalitionforncjobs.com.
The following will serve as spokespersons for their organizations:
Eddie Caldwell, Executive Vice President and General Counsel, N.C. Sheriffs' Association
(919) 459-1052
George H. Erwin, Jr., Executive Director, N.C. Association of Chiefs of Police (828) 490-4611
Chief Jose Lopez, Durham Police Department (919) 560-4322
Chief Michael Yanerio, Jacksonville Police Department (910) 455-4000
Ellis Hankins, Executive Director, N.C. League of Municipalities (919) 715-4000
David F. Thompson, Executive Director, N.C. Association of County Commissioners (919) 715-2893
Connie Wilson, Employers Coalition of North Carolina, (919) 274-0557
About the Coalition for North Carolina Jobs: In January of 2006, associations and businesses concerned
about pro-union legislation at the North Carolina General Assembly (NCGA) joined forces to form the
Coalition for North Carolina Jobs (NC Jobs). For the past two years, NC Jobs has successfully stopped
every pro-union bill and amendment at the NCGA even after labor unions gave hundreds of thousands of
dollars to legislative campaigns.