The right of government employees to negotiate a group contract.

A North Carolina law first passed in 1959 expressly forbids any city, town, county or state agency to negotiate with a union on behalf of government employees.

Under federal law, only private sector employees have the right to collective bargaining, though most states allow government workers to do so as well.

The State Employees Association of North Carolina, which represents about half of 120,000 state workers, functions much like a union on other matters, and in all likelihood would negotiate contracts as well if the law were repealed.

Starting in the 1940s, SEANC's bylaws included a rule against strikes. In 2001, the group voted to remove the bylaw and made repealing the ban on collective bargaining one of its top goals. 

Repeal was also No. 11 on the 14-point HK on J agenda put forth by the state NAACP and other groups.

However, bills to repeal the ban have consistently failed to pass the legislature.