Press Release: NC Union Merger Will Cost State
click here for the official release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: John Kartch
6 MAY 2008
202-785-0266
NC Union Merger Will Cost State
As the rest of the nation moves away from unionization, NC slumps backwards
Washington, D.C. — Today, the Alliance for Worker Freedom (AWF), a special project of Americans for Tax Reform dedicated to combating anti-worker legislation and promoting free and open labor markets, released a statement opposing the recent State Employee Association of North Carolina (SEANC) merger with the Service Employees International Union (SEIU).
In a statement, native North Carolinian and AWF Executive Director Brian M. Johnson said, “When corporations and jobs are looking toward states for economic investment, one of the first things they want to see is low union rates to keep the threat of strikes at bay and ensure wages will be paid based on the skill of the employee and not on forced bargaining.” Johnson continues, “An increase in public sector unionization means that the state and the union will now control, in this case, 115,000 workers pensions and retirement accounts: worker freedom is completely lost!”
North Carolina has a defined benefit pension system for state employees rather than a defined contribution pension. The later, which is absent in NC, provides workers with a portable pension (such as a 401k or IRA) that and give the employee more control over investment. The current system places retirement investment under the control of the union or the state. According to Johnson, it is a lose-lose situation.
“When a state controls the pensions, it has to spend money on pension management – that hurts the state budget; when a worker does not control their pension – that limits the employees’ financial freedom. Further, this massive unionization of public sector employees almost guarantees the SEIU will fund efforts to overturn NC’s policy against forced bargaining,” Johnson says.
Currently, 37 states have some form of forced collective bargaining. These deals vary in degree of transparency, from states that allow public access to bargaining sessions like Florida and Alaska, to states with completely closed, backroom sessions such as Delaware and Connecticut.
Johnson says collective bargaining measures can render the employer or the state helpless to the demands of the union. “These backroom, sweetheart deals will restrict the ability of the elected city officials to control benefits and regulate salary. If state employees go on strike and demand more money, guess where that money will come from: the taxpaying wallets of North Carolinians.”
