According to this AP story http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-02-24/sc-lawmakers-consider-another-anti-union-bill.html:
Bidding to maintain South Carolina's anti-union status, Republican legislators want to exempt businesses from a proposed federal rule that they notify workers of their rights to unionize.
The so-called "employer free speech act," co-sponsored by 63 House members, is the latest show of lawmakers' disdain for unions in a state that markets itself as anti-union. A House panel advanced the bill Wednesday to the full Judiciary Committee.
It’s in response to a proposed National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) rule requiring employers to post an information sheet explaining the rights of employees to form a union under the National Labor Relations Act. From the article:
Gov. Nikki Haley applauded Clemmons' measure introduced two weeks ago in the House.
"We are not going to post posters that encourage unions. It's ridiculous," she said. "No, we don't need to be posting posters up there that say, 'Oh, guess what? There are unions out there.' I think it sends a bad message."
General Vice President Bob Martinez said “The Governor of South Carolina is afraid for the workers in South Carolina to know they have rights to have a Union. This is truly sad, for a Governor to move to keep information away from workers in the state.”
“The Governor is hurting the state and the workers,” said Martinez. “Gov. Haley seems to think the only way she can sell her state to prospective employers is to say that the South Carolina employees are cheaper than everyone else, and she will personally keep them under control and union-free. She is selling her state and her workers short. South Carolina workers are hard-working and skilled, and that’s how she should interest companies in coming to South Carolina. That’s how you get good employers that increase the tax base.”
