Hagan Sides With Big Labor Unions Over North Carolina Workers And Small Businesses | Eastern NC Now

For Immediate Release:

    Raleigh, N.C.     As "Small Business Week" continues, North Carolinians are reminded that Kay Hagan has consistently advanced the agenda of big labor unions at the expense of small businesses and workers.

    Unlike Speaker Thom Tillis, who has worked hard to create a climate in North Carolina conducive to creating jobs and generating economic growth, Hagan has spent the last six years in the Senate giving big handouts to the union bosses now financing her campaign.

    Hagan supports the "Employee Free Choice Act" or card-check legislation, which would eliminate the secret ballot for union elections and open-up members to possible coercion from union bosses.

   •  "Democratic candidate Kay Hagan's support for a bill in Congress that would make it easier to unionize appears to be behind a spate of recent automated calls to state voters by national advocacy groups. None of the calls explicitly mentions the 'card check' bill, which would allow a union to form if enough workers signed an authorization form, rather than only through a secret-ballot vote. ... A Hagan spokeswoman said she supports the bill as a way to 'level the playing field for working families.' 'This bill simply allows the workers, not the employers, to decide which method to use, and stiffens penalties for intimidation,' spokeswoman Colleen Flanagan said." (Ryan Teague Beckwith, "Automated Calls Praise, Blame Hagan," The News & Observer, 10/4/08)

    The Employee Free Choice Act would be a disaster for the American economy, with one study finding that its implementation could cost 600,000 jobs in just two years.

   •  "[T]he Unionization Of 1.5 Million Existing Jobs Under EFCA In Year One Would Lead To The Loss Of 600,000 Jobs By The Following Year. Job losses directly attributed to the passage of the Employee Free Choice Act would be equal to the entire population of Boston, MA." (Dr. Anne Layne-Farrar, LECG Consulting, "An Empirical Assessment of the Employee Free Choice Act: The Economic Implications," Alliance To Save Main Street Jobs, 3/5/09)

    Although Congress has refused to pass card-check legislation, a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) rule essentially allows for "ambush" union elections through regulation. In 2012, Hagan voted to keep the "ambush" election NLRB rule.

   •  "Enzi, R-Wyo., motion to proceed to the joint resolution that would disapprove of a National Labor Relations Board rule regarding union elections." (S. J. Res. 36, CQ Vote #68: Motion rejected 45-54: R 45-1; D 0-51; I 0-2, 4/24/12, Hagan Voted Nay)

    In return for Hagan's loyalty, labor unions have given her nearly $360,000 since 2008. The AFL-CIO, the nation's largest labor union, has endorsed her re-election campaign.

    "Kay Hagan has signaled that she'll continue to give more generous handouts to the union bosses financing her re-election campaign even if it means killing jobs back in North Carolina," said Tillis for U.S. Senate campaign manager Jordan Shaw. "Unlike Washington liberal Kay Hagan, Thom Tillis isn't afraid to stand-up to the union bosses and protect hardworking North Carolinian families and small business owners from the unions' anti-jobs agenda."

    Contact: Jordan Shaw

      jordan@thomtillis.com