Few senators have been the focus of such strong lobbying on the labor-backed card check off buill than U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan.

But the North Carolina Democrat said she still supports the legislation that would make it easier for labor unions to organize workers, Rob Christensen reports.

"We need to level the playing field for working families in this country," Hagan said in an interview.

"Currently," Hagan said, "I do not think the votes are there to pass the bill. There are alot of compromises being looked at."

Garrett Perdue belongs to a group of economic developers.

Earlier this year, the son of Gov. Beverly Perdue joined the N.C. Economic Developers Association, a statewide association of site consultants, engineers and Chamber of Commerce types who help recruit business.

He was also listed among the attendees of the group's mid-winter conference, one of three it holds each year. Speakers included economics professor Mike Walden and Dan Gerlach, former budget advisor to Gov. Mike Easley.

Executive Director John Peterson said the group was founded in 1966 to offer training to economic developers and advocate for local, state and federal policies that would benefit the state's business climate.

Its roughly 600 members pay $200 a year to belong.

Much of the group's work focuses on state business. Its 2009 legislative agenda calls for support of three corporate incentives programs run by the N.C. Department of Commerce, funding community colleges, and lowering the state's sales taxes, among other things.

Peterson said the group is also concerned about a federal card-check bill.

Reps. Paul Luebke and Ty Harrell support $483 million coming into the state's economy.

That figure was the centerpiece of a news conference the Democrats held Tuesday to express their support for the Employee Free Choice Act, also known as the card check bill.

Luebke and Harrell said in what is sure to be a polarizing claim that if 5 percent more of the state's workers were in unions, they would earn $483 million more in wages, assuming that union workers make eight percent. Those workers would then have more money to spend in the economy.

"We are always happy to have more people working and working at higher wages," said Luebke, of Durham.

The estimates on new wages come from a study by the Center for American Progress Action Fund. The center is a liberal think tank that supports the card check bill.

* N.C. Change to Win head Willie Carey takes exception to a Dome item, says the AFL-CIO endorsed Sen. Kay Hagan before she backed card check.

* NoMoreGillNets.org has a billboard on Interstate 40 calling lack of wildlife enforcement on gill nets "another black eye for N.C. politics."

* Rep. Pricey Harrison introduces bill that would ban N.C. power companies from buying coal obtained via mountaintop mining in other states.

* Charlotte Observer columnist Jack Betts says the smoking ban has a good chance of passing, notes Rep. Marian McLawhorn is now in favor.

DEPRESSING STIMULANT: Gov. Beverly Perdue said the federal stimulus package is still about $150 million short. She plans to use $780 million from the feds to patch the state's $2 billion budget hole, with longtime go-to guy Dempsey Benton overseeing the state's spending. Still, she's going to have to dig a little deeper.

HEALTH PLAN BAILOUT?: Smoking and overeating could get more expensive for state employees. A proposal to keep the state health plan solvent would force smokers and the obese to enroll in the costliest coverage option. Pass the Nicorette and hold the donuts, please.

BAD NEWS FOR STUDENTS: The escheats fund sounds like something that would get you kicked out of school. But it actually helps students go — for now. State Treasurer Janet Cowell warned that the little-known fund for forgotten insurance policies and utility deposits is running dry, which could mean cuts to college scholarships it pays for.

CARD CHECK ... PLEASE? U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan may now have to pay her union dues. Although known as a pro-business Democrat in the legislature, she won labor's backing to the tune of $200,000 last year after pledging to support a "card check" bill that would make unionization easier. Now her vote in Congress could prove crucial to the bill's chances.

IN OTHER NEWS: Perdue's son, Garrett, joins Raleigh law firm as a lobbyist. Womble, Carlyle, Sandridge, Rice and Perdue? Nah, too long. ... The head of the N.C. Restaurant and Lodging Association says it will not oppose a smoking ban as written. Look for tobacco lobbyists to try to change the ban's wording. ... Lt. Gov. Walter Dalton didn't get his extra $63 a day for acting as governor while Perdue was on vacation, according to the state controller. No word on whether he turned down tips too.

Sen. Kay Hagan is at the center of a fight over unions.

The Greensboro Democrat is being lobbied by organized labor to keep a campaign promise to support a bill that would make it easier for unions toorganize. But she's also facing a concerted effort by a coalition fo businesses and small-government groups against it.

In an interview, Hagan said she will support the Employee Free Choice Act, also known as the card check bill.

"I campaigned and said all along that it allows the employees to make the choice," she said. "I also think it will help level the playing field."

Business groups have already hired two Raleigh political consulting firms and TV and radio ads are expected. Americans for Prosperity held rallies in Greensboro and Raleigh.

Organized labor gave at least $200,000 to Hagan during her campaign, who had a reputation as a pro-business Democrat in the state Senate. (N&O)

U.S. Sen. Richard Burr said a bill to make it easier for labor unions to organize violated a basic American right of a private ballot.

"Why would we not try to protect something that is of the democratic fabric of America," he told a rally of about 200 people in front of the legislature. "At what point do we discard things that generation after generation we have found to represent the core of what Americans believe and that is that every vote counts and that everyone who eligible gets to do that in private."

The rally was in opposition to the Employee Free Choice Act, also known as the card-check bill, that is being backed by organized labor, Rob Christensen reports.

Among other provisions, the card-check bill would permit workers to form a union if a majority signed a card. Current law requires a secret vote.

Speakers, mainly representing business groups, said the bill would damage North Carolina’s business climate, would poison employee-employer relations, and would impair business owners in operating their enterprises.

Burr, a Republican, did not mention his fellow North Carolina senator, Democrat Kay Hagan, who is supporting the provision.

But Tim Phillips, president of Americans for Prosperity, which sponsored the rally, asked members of the crowd to call Hagan's Senate offices to urge her to oppose the measure.

Supporters of the measure planned to hold a news conference in Raleigh this afternoon.

With the stimulus passed, the debate has now shifted to unionization.

Some of the same groups that argued over a $787 billion stimulus package in Congress are now facing off in North Carolina over the Employee Free Choice Act.

Sometimes called the "card check" bill, the legislation would make it easier for workers to join or form a union. Labor unions say the bill would help workers bargain for better conditions, while opponent say it would get rid of the secret ballot.

The state chapter of Americans for Prosperity will hold events in Greensboro and Raleigh this week, recognizing Sen. Richard Burr and Rep. Howard Coble for their opposition with a "Defense of the American Worker" award.

The state NAACP, meantime, has fired back with a "Hypocrisy Award" to the two Republicans, saying the awards are a "self-serving exploitation" of the civil rights movement.

A spokeswoman for Sen. Kay Hagan said she supports the bill.

What is labor looking for in North Carolina?

Unions and employee associations are pushing for three major pieces of legislation which would make it easier to unionize Tar Heel workers:

CARD CHECK: A U.S. House bill that would allow unions to form if employees checked a card — rather than by secret ballot — stalled in the Senate after a narrow vote last year. Sen.-elect Kay Hagan has said she is open to the bill.

COLLECTIVE BARGAINING: A state law from 1959 forbids any municipal or state agency to negotiate with a union. The State Employees Association of N.C., now an affiliate of SEIU, hopes to repeal the ban on collective bargaining. 

COLLECTIVE BARGAINING, PART II: A U.S. House bill would require all cities and towns of more than 5,000 people to allow collective bargaining for firefighters, police officers and EMS workers. If passed, it would put increased pressure to overturn the state ban entirely.

These are not the only goals of unions in North Carolina, obviously. The National Education Association, for example, also has specific educational goals, while SEANC is concerned about government workers' pay and benefits.

But these are the major goals shared across union lines.