McAuliffe Brags About Discriminating Against Non-Union Workers

Claims to Have Hired "All Union Workers" in Right-to-Work Florida

Richmond, Virginia - Democratic candidate for governor Terry McAuliffe boasted in the final debate of the primary season that he had created jobs in Florida and hired all unionized workers in an apparent violation of that state's right-to-work law. Florida, Virginia and twenty other states have laws that prohibit compulsory union membership as a condition of employment. To require union membership as a prerequisite for a job would be discriminatory against non-union applicants.

"I've gone into states like Florida -- right-to-work," McAuliffe said yesterday in a debate hosted by the Washington Post and News Channel 8 at Northern Virginia Community College's Annandale campus."And hired all union workers."

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Did McAuliffe violate Florida law and would he advocate the same in Virginia?

Florida's law reads, in part:

"The right of persons to work shall not be denied or abridged on account of membership or non-membership in any labor union or labor organization." (Florida Constitution, Article 1, Section 6)

Virginia's law reads, in part:

"It is hereby declared to be the public policy of Virginia that the right of persons to work shall not be denied or abridged on account of membership or non-membership in any labor union or labor organization." (Virginia Code, Section 40.1-58)

"Terry McAuliffe either doesn't know or doesn't care what the letter and spirit of right-to-work laws are if he brags about discriminating against non-union workers," said Republican Party of Virginia Chairman Pat Mullins. "Requiring all workers to be unionized is against the policy of Virginia and it is shocking that he would boast about breaking it. Our hard-working citizens and employers deserve to know: will Terry McAuliffe encourage the same kind of discriminatory hiring practices in Virginia he claims to have engaged in while in Florida?"