Local and state governments dodge a collective bullet

In a cloture vote on July 22^nd, the United States Senate rejected an amendment the U.S. House had added to H.R. 4899, the Supplemental Appropriations Act, and returned the original Senate version of the bill back to the House for further consideration. Among the provisions included in the House amendment was language mandating that states, counties and municipalities collectively bargain with public safety employee labor unions, which the North Carolina League of Municipalities continues to oppose.

 The cloture vote was 46 to 51. Senator Richard Burr voted against cloture, while Senator Kay Hagan voted for cloture. Had 60 Senators voted in favor of cloture, it would have cleared the way for the Senate to pass the House bill – including the collective bargaining mandate – by majority vote.

The League is asking members to campaign against collective bargaining when they meet members of Congress back home during the August recess.