Public Employees Deserve A Voice Act.

2025-2026 Session Introduced by Sophia Chitlik and 4 co-sponsors

repeals the ban on public employee collective bargaining, allowing negotiations between public employers and unions for wages, conditions, and related terms.

Passed 1st Reading

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Objective

This bill repeals the longstanding prohibition on public employee collective bargaining in North Carolina, enabling formal negotiations between public employers (cities, towns, counties, state agencies, and their instrumentalities) and labor unions or labor organizations acting as bargaining agents for public employees.

Key Provisions

Repeal of anti-bargaining prohibition (main provision):

Amends General Statutes Section 95-98 to remove the current ban that declares any contract between a public employer and a labor union for public employees “illegal, unlawful, void and of no effect.”
By repealing this clause, public employees and their employers could engage in collective bargaining through labor unions as recognized bargaining agents.

Funding for implementation and outreach:

Effective July 1, 2026, the bill appropriates:
$100,000 (nonrecurring) from the General Fund to the Department of Labor.
Purpose: to inform public employees about the act (i.e., to educate and raise awareness about the changes to the law and the opportunities for collective bargaining).

Effective date:

The act becomes effective upon becoming law, with specific funding and informational activities beginning in the 2026-2027 fiscal year.

Who Is Affected

Public employees in North Carolina (employees of state, local governments, and their agencies/instrumentalities).

Public employers (cities, towns, counties, and state agencies/instrumentalities) that would engage in collective bargaining with labor unions representing public employees.

Labor unions and labor organizations that would serve as bargaining agents for public employees.

Procedural and Timeline Notes

Effective date: The act becomes law upon enactment.

Immediate post-enactment action: The Department of Labor would receive a one-time $100,000 to facilitate informational outreach in the 2026-2027 fiscal year.

Next steps (implicit): Following repeal, entities would need to establish processes for recognizing bargaining agents, negotiating contracts, and implementing terms of bargaining, subject to future rules and procedures not detailed in the bill.

Potential Impacts (High-Level)

Enables collective bargaining for public employees in North Carolina, a shift away from decades of a formal prohibition.

Creates a framework for employer-union negotiations, wage and benefits discussions, working conditions, grievance procedures, and related terms, subject to future regulatory guidance and local/newly applicable agreements.

Requires public employers to engage in good-faith bargaining with recognized unions.

Places a mandate on the Department of Labor to inform the workforce about the new rights and processes, supported by a modest 2026-2027 informational budget.

Notes for Readers

The bill focuses on repealing the ban and funding initial outreach; it does not itself outline the detailed bargaining procedures, scopes of negotiation, or dispute resolution mechanisms. Those aspects would likely be addressed in subsequent legislation or through agency rulemaking and local collective bargaining agreements following implementation.

Bill