North Carolina Workers Rally To End Collective Bargaining Ban

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.laborradio.org/node/11196

North Carolina Workers Rally To End Collective Bargaining Ban - 05/27/09

Workers in North Carolina rallied in Raleigh on Tuesday for an end to a collective bargaining ban. Jesse Russell reports:

Workers and their supporters lobbied on Tuesday for an end to a 50 year ban on the right of state workers to collectively bargain. North Carolina and Virginia are the only two states in the union that out right deny state workers the representation of a public employees union. The labor supporters called on the state legislature to pass two bills that would repeal the 50 year old act. If that happened workers could then allow unions to represent them in contract negotiations. Overall, only 3.5 percent of North Carolina’s workers are in a union, that’s the lowest rate in the country. On Tuesday North Carolina NAACP President Rev. William Barber said the bill was originally passed to prevent black workers from organizing.