North Carolina is setting the pace again. CNBC’s 2026 Top States for Business ranking placed the state second overall and first in the nation for its economy. It is North Carolina’s seventh consecutive year among the top three. That kind of consistency is not luck. It reflects a state that welcomes investment, develops talent and respects individual choice.
One important part of that formula is North Carolina’s Right to Work law. North Carolina is business-friendly in part because it is worker-choice friendly.
Since 1947, the state has protected the principle that no one’s job should depend on whether that person joins a union, and no one should be forced to pay union dues as a condition of employment. Right to Work is not a ban on unions. Workers remain free to organize, join and support one. The choice belongs to the worker.
That freedom matters to employees, and it matters to employers. Businesses are looking for skilled people, predictable rules, and a workplace culture grounded in choice rather than coercion. North Carolina’s own economic-development partnership identifies Right to Work as part of the state’s cost advantage.
That is why the state’s work on Senate Bill 1082 matters. The bill has passed the Senate and is pending in the House. It would ask voters whether to place North Carolina’s longstanding Right to Work principle in the state Constitution. It would not take away anyone’s right to join a union. It would make the protection of worker choice more durable.
Constitutions should be reserved for enduring principles. Freedom of association, and freedom from compelled association, is one.
At Americans for Fair Treatment, our mission is protecting constitutional freedom in the workplace. North Carolina’s ranking is the headline. Worker choice is part of the foundation.