RALEIGH, N.C., May 29, 2026 — The 600,000-member IAM Union (International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers) is urging members of the North Carolina House of Representatives to vote against S.B. 1082, legislation that would amend the North Carolina Constitution to permanently enshrine the state’s so-called “right-to-work” law.
In a letter sent to North Carolina lawmakers, IAM Union International President Brian Bryant warned the proposal is an unnecessary political attack on workers’ rights that would further weaken workers’ ability to organize and collectively bargain for fair wages, benefits, and safe working conditions.
“North Carolina already has had ‘right-to-work’ provisions in state law since 1947, and this political attack on the constitution is shameful and unnecessary,” wrote IAM Union International President Brian Bryant in a letter to North Carolina lawmakers. “This attempt to enshrine anti-union verbiage in the state constitution is also a waste of taxpayer dollars, and pushes North Carolina in the wrong direction. The ‘right-to-work’ state laws weaken workers’ ability to unionize and collectively bargain for fair wages, benefits, and safe working conditions. Rather than improving workers’ lives amid growing costs of living, these anti-labor laws harm lower and middle-class workers as they are associated with lower wages than in states without them.”
The IAM Union represents thousands of workers across North Carolina, including workers at Spirit AeroSystems in Kinston and air transport workers at Charlotte Douglas International Airport and Raleigh-Durham International Airport.
Research continues to show that so-called “right-to-work” laws lower wages and weaken workplace protections for working people. According to the Economic Policy Institute, workers in states with “right-to-work” laws earn lower wages on average, are less likely to have employer-sponsored health insurance and pensions, and face higher workplace fatality rates than workers in states without those laws.
The bill recently passed the North Carolina Senate and could be considered by the North Carolina House as early as next week.
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