Bad For Business

Today, North Carolinians go to the polls to vote in a primary election.  You may never have voted in a primary before, or maybe never voted in any election, or maybe you don’t claim any political party.  But  today all North Carolinians need to go to the polls – Democrat, Republican, and unaffiliated – and come to the polls and vote against Amendment One.
 
North Carolina’s proposed Amendment One is bad for business.
 
It will interfere with employers’ ability to recruit talent and their right to provide competitive benefits to their employees.  
 
It also signals to employers, employees, and entrepreneurs that North Carolina is not welcoming to the diverse, creative workforce that we need to compete in the global economy.  
 
We should not do anything at this time that diminishes any individual or any corporation’s interest in locating or remaining in North Carolina. 
 
But don’t take my word for it. Bank of America exec Cathy Bessant says “Amendment One has the potential to have a disastrous effect on our ability to attract talent and keep talent” in North Carolina.
 
Duke Energy CEO Jim Rogers says twenty years from now we’ll look back at this “amendment the same way we think about Jim Crow laws that were passed in this state” so many years ago.
 
Or executives at the AICPA who relocated five years ago, hired 500 employees, and now say they wouldn’t have considered North Carolina had this had been the law. 
 
This amendment will tarnish our state’s reputation and affect everything from employee benefits to economic development.
 
So on behalf of myself and my family, and on behalf of the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Chamber of Commerce, I hope that you’ll join me, today, in voting against Amendment One.  Polls are open until 7:30.

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