Local
North Carolina is the least unionized state in the entire United States, thanks to anti-union labor laws, making advocating on working women’s behalf even more difficult than it is for most states. How do various organizations confront this challenge and succeed in securing better labor conditions for workers without political power? Student Action with Workers (SAW) utilizes the power of students, while UE 150, the North Carolina Public Workers’ Union, has mobilized despite many legal ramifications.1 Through these methods, greater provisions for workers and concrete improvement have been achieved since the introduction of the Beijing Platform for Action in 1995.
The history of labor in North Carolina involves an anti-union stance from businesses and government. While textile factories and agricultural plants, notably hog farming and tobacco processing, remain important aspects of the North Carolina economy, union growth never reached this southern state. According to MaryBe McMillan, North Carolina AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer, most unions in the state merely act as advocacy organizations, especially those working with public employees.2,3 North Carolina public employees are legally prohibited from bargaining collectively under North Carolina General Statute 95-98, passed in 1959.4 Despite this, SAW has accomplished more worker protections in concert with UNC housekeepers, demonstrating the power to improve the lives of women and secure human dignity and human rights, even outside of organized labor.