The state of North Carolina is violating international freedom of association labor standards by prohibiting governmental entities from bargaining with unions, according to a decision released Tuesday by the International Labor Organization (ILO), the labor standards branch of the United Nations. North Carolina General Statute section 95-98 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. (1959, c. 742.)
The ILO decision, which is not technically binding on North Carolina, requested that North Carolina repeal the statute.

The Public Service Workers Union and its parent union, the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America (UE), brought the complaint in 2005.