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The News & Observer, Raleigh, N.C., Rob Christensen column: Unions don't take root here(News & Observer, The (Raleigh, NC) (KRT) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Jun. 22--North Carolina is the Norma Rae of states. You remember "Norma Rae," the 1979 movie starring Sally Field, about how a textile worker disturbed about Dickensian working conditions organized a successful union vote despite fierce company opposition. Norma Rae was based on Crystal Lee Sutton, a $2.65 per hour towel folder at the J.P. Stevens Plant in Roanoke Rapids. Sutton ended up losing her job and working at a fast-food restaurant. North Carolina is the least unionized state in the country, with 3 percent of the work force belonging to unions in 2007, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. To put this in perspective, Mississippi has double the unionization rate of North Carolina, Alabama triple the rate. The national average is 12.1 percent. As you might expect, the current drive in the legislature to allow public employees to engage in collective bargaining appears to be going nowhere fast this session. The House Democratic caucus took up the matter last week. "At this point, I doubt it has the votes to pass," said House Majority Leader Hugh Holliman, a Democrat from Lexington. North Carolina has one of the most restrictive laws against collective bargaining by public employees in the country. But a labor coalition is making a concerted effort to change that. Leading the drive is the 2 million-member Service Employees International Union, the nation's fastest-growing union. This spring, the State Employees Association of North Carolina -- the major advocacy group for state workers -- voted to affiliate with the SEIU. Also pushing to change the collective bargaining law are the N.C. Association of Educators, the AFL-CIO and the Teamsters and the American Federation of Teachers. To gain clout in the legislature, the SEIU has been plowing money into Tar Heel political campaigns. But the drive also has powerful opposition. Business groups fear it will lead to a more powerful labor movement in the state. State and local government officials warn it will lead to work disruptions, drawn-out negotiations, time-consuming grievance procedures and higher taxes. History would suggest you bet on the opponents. There are a lot of reasons why unions have found North Carolina such barren ground. Part of it is cultural. When North Carolina was industrialized in the 20th century, the mills were manned by fiercely independent hill-country farmers, not by European immigrants as elsewhere. The factories were in small, rural mill towns, often controlled by the mill owners, rather than in big cities where organizing was easier. North Carolina -- a once poor rural state trying to attract Northern industry -- has been openly hostile to its workers' organizing. During the 1920s, the government used bullets and billy clubs to put down the union movement. There is still a plaque in state AFL-CIO headquarters commemorating six striking textile workers shot dead in the back by deputy sheriffs in McDowell County. The crushing of the labor movement has had a profound impact on North Carolina politics. There is no countervailing political force to business in North Carolina as there is in most states. Consequently, business interests usually get what they want in the legislature. The clout of business and the weakness of labor also mean that any effort to persuade the legislature to give public employees collective bargaining rights will be a tough sell. [email protected] or (919) 829-4532 To see more of The News & Observer, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.newsobserver.com. Copyright (c) 2008, The News & Observer, Raleigh, N.C. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. |