Kinston Mayor Don Hardy speaks at the Wednesday press conference in support of collective bargaining Photo courtesy of Wiley Nickel / N.C. Senate - Facebook Live

One local mayor is making his voice heard in the state capital.

Kinston Mayor Don Hardy made an appearance in Raleigh Wednesday morning alongside state legislators, municipal leaders and union representatives at a press conference to promote legislation seeking to overturn North Carolina’s ban on collective bargaining for public employees.

N.C. General Statute 95-98, enacted in 1959, states, “Any agreement, or contract, between the governing authority of any city, town, county, or other municipality, or between any agency, unit, or instrumentality thereof, or between any agency, instrumentality, or institution of the State of North Carolina, and any labor union, trade union, or labor organization, as bargaining agent for any public employees of such city, town, county or other municipality, or agency or instrumentality of government, is hereby declared to be against the public policy of the State, illegal, unlawful, void and of no effect.”

N.C. Rep. Zack Hawkins (D- Durham) introduced HB710 and N.C. Sen. Wiley Nickel (D- Wake) introduced companion bill SB575, both of which seek to repeal GS 95-98, thus overturning the ban. Hawkins and Nickel held a press conference Wednesday morning to shine a spotlight on the effort. Hardy spoke at the press conference, voicing his support for the legislation.

Hardy said he believes it is important that local governments have the option to contract collective bargaining agreements with their employees, noting that overturning the ban would not make the practice mandatory.

“Right now, we’re having a hard time to retain folks because of pay, because of those benefits, because they don’t have a voice, and you have the opportunity to sit down and talk with the workers, and figure out what they need ...[through] collective bargaining, and… this is why I’m here,” he said.

Representatives from the Durham City Council, the North Carolina Association of Educators, the Teamsters Local 391, the NC State AFL-CIO and the Democratic Municipal Officials organization also spoke in support of the measure.

Neuse News has reached out to Kinston City Council members for comment on the possible effect the measure could have on city employees, but is still waiting for a response. This story will be updated with their comments.