While its political upside is clear, the Democratic National Committee’s pledge to hire union contractors for the upcoming national convention in Charlotte threatens to shut out businesses in this “right to work” state. If North Carolina’s votes are good enough for the DNC, so should its businesses.
While the organizing committee has already awarded numerous contracts to local contractors, at least two companies have complained of losing out to out-of-state firms because of unionization.
While concerning, the (Raleigh) News & Observer reporting recently found no clear bias to union firms by the organizing committee. Of the six firms awarded contracts thus far, only one is a unionized firm. The DNC needs to continue this balanced approach as the convention nears.
With an economic impact of about $160 million, next year’s convention stands to bring a desperately-needed economic stimulus to the area.
With a 10.2 percent unemployment rate, higher than the national average, Charlotte has been hit particularly hard by the economic downturn.
As the host of this convention, the DNC should be doing all it can to promote goodwill among local businesses. Waiving this union requirement would be a good step toward courting favors in November.
