Some Georgia workers would find it harder to become union members under a new bill

ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia lawmakers have made it harder for workers at corporations getting state financial incentives to unionize, in what could possibly be a violation of federal legislation.

The state House voted 96 to 78 Wednesday for Senate Bill 362, which would bar corporations that settle for state incentives from recognizing unions with out a formal secret-ballot election. The measure, which has been backed by Gov. Brian Kemp, now goes to the Republican governor for his signature.

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The bill would block unions from profitable recognition straight from a firm — with out the extra step of a secret poll — after signing up a majority of workers, in what’s often referred to as a card test.

The proposal comes as Georgia is giving billions in financial incentives to electrical car producers and different corporations.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp speaks, Feb. 26, 2024, in Athens, Ga. Georgia lawmakers have made it harder for workers at corporations getting state financial incentives to unionize, in what could possibly be a violation of federal legislation. The state House voted 96 to 78 Wednesday, March 20, for Senate Bill 362, which would bar corporations that settle for state incentives from recognizing unions with out a formal secret-ballot election. The measure, which has been backed by Gov. Kemp, now goes to the Republican governor for his signature.

Union leaders and Democrats argue the bill violates 1935’s National Labor Relations Act, which governs union organizing.

“If this bill passes, there will be a lawsuit and it will cost Georgia taxpayers millions of dollars and the state will lose,” state Rep. Saira Draper, an Atlanta Democrat, stated on the House ground Wednesday.

The National Labor Relations Board, the federal company overseeing union affairs, has declined to remark.

Democrats say the bill is actually about making it harder for unions to set up and for corporations to settle for them. Other Democrats took to the House ground to argue that the bill would hurt Georgia companies by making workers from different states reluctant to transfer right here.

“Why would we do anything to be anti-labor when we need to attract more workers from any source available?” requested Rep. Gregg Kennard of Lawrenceville.

Republicans denied that the bill is anti-labor, saying it goals to defend workers’ privateness. Some, together with Kemp, argue that the key poll protects workers from being bullied into becoming a member of unions.

“Nothing in this bill stops a union from being formed,” stated Rep. Soo Hong of Lawrenceville. “We are ensuring that when the state invests state resources to drive job creation that hardworking Georgians who hold those jobs have the agency to determine whether to be represented by a labor union.”

Only 4.4% of Georgia workers are union members, the eighth-lowest fee amongst states.

Georgia’s bill is modeled after a legislation handed in Tennessee final yr, however there could possibly be comparable laws supplied in lots of different states. The conservative American Legislative Exchange Council is selling the thought. The nationwide push may be a response to a choice by the Democratic-controlled NLRB final yr that made it simpler for unions to set up by card test.

Governors in different Southern states historically hostile to organized labor have been talking out towards unions, after the United Auto Workers vowed a contemporary push to set up nonunion auto factories after a number of failed makes an attempt.

Alabama Republican Gov. Kay Ivey stated her state’s financial success is “under attack.” Henry McMaster, South Carolina’s Republican governor, informed lawmakers within the nation’s least unionized state final month that organized labor is such a menace that he would combat unions ” all the way to the gates of hell.”

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Kemp proclaimed his help for the bill in a January speech to the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, echoing the chamber’s personal agenda. He stated the transfer would defend workers’ “right to opportunity” from President Joe Biden’s pro-union agenda and out of doors forces “who want nothing more than to see the free market brought to a screeching halt.”

Alabama and South Carolina are amongst 5 states which have handed state constitutional amendments guaranteeing entry to secret union ballots. Indiana, like Tennessee, has handed a state legislation.