South Carolina has the least unionized workforce. Here’s why it should stay that way | Opinion

South Carolina’s Midlands region is a testament to the power of free enterprise and the benefits of a pro-business environment. Over the past few decades, the Midlands has transformed into an economic powerhouse, thanks in large part to the presence and continued investment of several major manufacturers, including those in the auto industry.

As a state lawmaker since 2005, I have witnessed firsthand how our state’s commitment to growth and prosperity with the nation’s least unionized workforce has driven job creation and economic vitality. Introducing union influence, however, would threaten to undermine this progress and destabilize the economic success we’ve built.

The secret to this success lies in the flexibility and efficiency that our workforce offers. Unlike heavily unionized states, South Carolina provides an environment where businesses can operate without the constraints and adversarial relationships that unions often bring. This flexibility allows manufacturers like automakers to innovate, adapt and compete on a global scale, bringing prosperity and stability to our region.

Last year brought news that the United Autoworkers union is looking to organize South Carolina’s automaking workforce. The UAW has already been successful in unionizing a Volkswagen plant in Tennessee and made pushes at multiple international automotive plants in Alabama. Workers deserve the right to join a union if they choose. But the UAW’s tactics make it clear that the union cares more about gaining dues-paying members than what workers may actually want. And its penchant for radical politics is the wrong fit for South Carolina.

Consider the UAW’s reliance on the so-called card check method of organizing. Under this method, workers are asked to publicly sign authorization cards declaring their support for the union, placing them under severe pressure at work and at home. A better method, one the UAW opposes, is to hold a secret ballot election conducted by the National Labor Relations Board.

Though South Carolinians voted overwhelmingly in favor of a 2010 constitutional amendment guaranteeing workers the fundamental right to a secret ballot in a union election, they should not rest on false assurances. The Democrat-dominated National Labor Relations Board stated in 2011 that it believes South Carolina’s law is unconstitutional and has been prepared to sue the state in the past. The issue remains unresolved, but there is little doubt the current NLRB will side with the UAW if it pursues a card check only method of organizing.

The UAW also wants to pressure automakers into accepting neutrality agreements. Under these arrangements, employers are pressured into agreeing to maintain a neutral posture during the organizing campaign. They lose their First Amendment right to speak freely with workers about the dangers of unionization or the specific problems associated with a particular union, like past corruption scandals or lavish executive compensation.

Unionized workplaces tend to be characterized by rigid work rules, higher operational costs and an adversarial relationship between management and employees. Look no further than Detroit, where last year’s six-week UAW strike cost workers a cumulative nearly half-billion dollars in unrecoverable wages and has resulted in the Big Three automakers — General Motors, Stellantis and Ford Motor Co. — announcing thousands of layoffs. In August alone, Stellantis announced plans to lay off 2,450 of its 3,700 employees at a Warren, Mich., plant and GM announced up to 1,000 layoffs in its software and services divisions.

The UAW is not the right fit for South Carolina’s Midlands. Our region’s success has been built on a foundation of flexibility, collaboration and a pro-business environment. To ensure continued economic growth and job creation, we must resist the pressures to introduce the UAW’s overbearing control over workplaces and instead continue to support the policies that have made South Carolina a leader in manufacturing and economic development.