A bill to allow collective bargaining for public employees did not pass before yesterday's crossover deadline.
North Carolina has barred state workers from negotiating contracts through their unions for nearly 50 years. Most states allow it.
Labor unions and public employees associations worked hard to promote the bill, giving hundreds of thousands of dollars to the N.C. Democratic Party.
Rep. Dan Blue, a Raleigh Democrat, said he thinks he could still bring the bill up before the session ends. But labor leaders like Chuck Stone, director of North Carolinians for Affordable Health Care, were disheartened.
"The Iraqi peoples' constitution guarantees the right to collective bargaining, and we can't even get a legislative committee to vote to guarantee that right for the people of North Carolina," Stone said. (N&O)
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