You can help all of North Carolina’s government workers,

city, county, and state, have a voice on the job.

ONLY OUR STATE AND VIRGINIA

PROHIBIT GOVERNMENT WORKERS FROM

“COLLECTIVE BARGAINING”…

Please support House Bill 1583

Now in NC, workers for private companies can elect to be represented by a union or association as they bargain with their employers for conditions on the job. Government workers (teachers, sanitation workers, medical staff at state hospitals—a large proportion of NC employees) now have NO SUCH RIGHT.

HB 1583 is a “local option” bill. It would make collective bargaining by government entities optional, not mandatory. It does not change the “no-strike” law—meaning that workers can be represented by unions or associations, but still may not go on strike.

Contracts between government entities and their employees benefit the government entities, their employees and all citizens. Published studies that

compare the 50 states show that where government entities have collective bargaining contracts the following correlations occur:

· Employees’ wages and benefits are higher

· Turnover is lower

· The government does not employ as many people, for a given population.

Lower employee turnover is a boon to governments and citizens. In fact, in 2005, North Carolina’s taxpayers paid $330 million to pay for state employee turnover costs alone. Governments keep more experienced employees who deliver better services to citizens.

All North Carolinians are winners.

Collective bargaining provides a working forum for employers and employees to address issues of discrimination in State government jobs. It is time to give government entities the choice to reap the benefit of contracting with their employees.

For more information, Contact: NC AFL-CIO (MaryBe McMillan or James Andrews at (919) 833-6678), PFFPNC Dave Anders at (828) 273-1430 or Richard O’Brien at (336) 601-4597, SEANC (Tom Harris at (919) 833-6436) or UE Local 150 (Ashaki Binta at (919) 593-7558).

Who is my State House Representative?

See http://www.ncleg.net/GIS/Representation/.