H 207

GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
  SESSION 2025
 H  1
  HOUSE BILL 207
 Short Title:   Remove Barriers to Labor Organizing.  (Public)
 Sponsors:      Representatives Morey, Butler, Harrison, and Price (Primary Sponsors).
  For a complete list of sponsors, refer to the North Carolina General Assembly web site.
 Referred to:   Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House
  February 26, 2025
1A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
2 AN ACT PROVIDING LABOR ORGANIZATIONS WITH THE UNABRIDGED RIGHT TO
3     ENTER INTO LABOR AGREEMENTS AND REPEALING RESTRICTIONS ON LABOR
4     ORGANIZING BY PUBLIC EMPLOYEES.
5 The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
6SECTION 1.(a) Article 10 of Chapter 95 of the General Statutes reads as rewritten:
7"Article 10.
8"Declaration of Policy as to Labor Organizations.
9 "§ 95-78. Declaration of public policy.
10     The right to live includes the right to work. The exercise of the right to work must be protected
11 and maintained free from undue restraints and coercion. It is hereby declared to be the public
12 policy of North Carolina that the right of persons to work shall not be denied or abridged on
13 account of membership or nonmembership in any labor union or labor organization or
14 association.abridged. It is further declared to be the public policy of North Carolina that the rights
15 of labor organizations and associations to enter into labor agreements shall not be denied or
16 abridged.
17 "§ 95-79. Certain agreements declared illegal.
18     (a)     Any agreement or combination between any employer and any labor union or labor
19 organization whereby persons not members of such union or organization shall be denied the
20 right to work for said employer, or whereby such membership is made a condition of employment
21 or continuation of employment by such employer, or whereby any such union or organization
22 acquires an employment monopoly in any enterprise, is hereby declared to be against the public
23 policy and an illegal combination or conspiracy in restraint of trade or commerce in the State of
24 North Carolina.
25     (b)     Any provision that directly or indirectly conditions the purchase of agricultural
26 products, the terms of an agreement for the purchase of agricultural products, or the terms of an
27 agreement not to sue or settle litigation upon an agricultural producer's status as a union or
28 nonunion employer or entry into or refusal to enter into an agreement with a labor union or labor
29 organization is invalid and unenforceable as against public policy in restraint of trade or
30 commerce in the State of North Carolina. Further, notwithstanding G.S. 95-25.8, an agreement
31 requiring an agricultural producer to transfer funds to a labor union or labor organization for the
32 purpose of paying an employee's membership fee or dues is invalid and unenforceable against
33 public policy in restraint of trade or commerce in the State of North Carolina. For purposes of
34 this subsection, the term "agricultural producer" means any producer engaged in any service or
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 General Assembly Of North Carolina  Session 2025
1 activity included within the provisions of section 3(f) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938,
2 29 U.S.C. § 203, or section 3121(g) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, 26 U.S.C. § 3121.
3 "§ 95-80. Membership in labor organization as condition of employment prohibited.
4     No person shall be required by an employer to become or remain a member of any labor
5 union or labor organization as a condition of employment or continuation of employment by such
6 employer.
7 "§ 95-81. Nonmembership as condition of employment prohibited.
8     No person shall be required by an employer to abstain or refrain from membership in any
9 labor union or labor organization as a condition of employment or continuation of employment.
10 "§ 95-82. Payment of dues as condition of employment prohibited.
11     No employer shall require any person, as a condition of employment or continuation of
12 employment, to pay any dues, fees, or other charges of any kind to any labor union or labor
13 organization.
14 "§ 95-83. Recovery of damages by persons denied employment.
15     Any person who may be denied employment or be deprived of continuation of his the person's
16 employment in violation of G.S. 95-80, 95-81 and 95-82 or of one or more of such sections,
17 G.S. 95-81 shall be entitled to recover from such the employer and from any other person, firm,
18 corporation, or association acting in concert with him the employer by appropriate action in the
19 courts of this State such damages as he the person may have sustained by reason of such the
20 denial or deprivation of employment.
21 "§ 95-84. Application of Article.
22     The provisions of this Article shall not apply to any lawful contract in force on the effective
23 date hereof but they shall apply in all respects to contracts entered into thereafter and to any
24 renewal or extension of any existing contract."
25SECTION 1.(b) Article 12 of Chapter 95 of the General Statutes is repealed.
26SECTION 2. This act is effective when it becomes law and applies to agreements
27 entered into on or after that date.
 Page 2  House Bill 207-First Edition