In 2022, only 5.4 percent of Georgia workers were represented by a union.
A bill passed by the Georgia state legislature and now before Republican Governor Brian Kemp for approval would remove economic incentives for new businesses in the state if they choose to voluntarily recognize unions formed by their workers.
Senate Bill 362 passed the House on Wednesday. Kemp has signaled his support for the bill and even pushed for the measure's passage early in the legislative session, falsely claiming that the bill would empower workers by encouraging new businesses in the state to allow secret ballot voting on unionization.
However, the measure eliminates a method of unionization known as a “card check,” in which workers who support a union sign a card and hand-deliver it to the employer. This lets the owner know that it is in his best interest to avoid a lengthy voting process and persuades him to recognize the union immediately.
In union elections, however, workers are often subjected to intimidation tactics, misinformation and propaganda from the company owner.
The law would only apply to new businesses entering the state that want to take advantage of the economic incentives Georgia offers to do so. Businesses that already have recognized unions in the state would not be affected. Georgia currently has the seventh-lowest unionization rate of any U.S. state. In 2022, only 5.4 percent of workers were unionized.
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Only about 3,500 people have signed up so far, while the expansion of Medicaid could insure over 359,000 uninsured people.
Even if Kemp signs the bill, as he has said he will, there will likely be legal opposition from the state's labor rights groups and unions. The federal National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) allows employers to immediately recognize unions, and the bill would take away that right from new employers in the state.
Critics criticize the bill because it deprives workers of the opportunity to have their unions recognized quickly and efficiently.
“We cannot ignore what created the middle class here in America, which is unions,” said Democratic Rep. Long Tran. “And I can't believe we have to debate today about whether or not the government should pick the corporate winners. I, as a small business owner, should have the final say on how I treat employees and labor in my business.”
“Politicians in Georgia have passed a horrific law that attacks the basic freedoms of workers and business owners,” AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler said on X, adding that the law “goes against[es] a long-standing precedent set by the NLRA.”
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