
{"id":25256,"date":"2012-04-19T10:32:07","date_gmt":"2012-04-19T14:32:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.carrborocitizen.com\/main\/?p=25256"},"modified":"2012-04-20T11:40:52","modified_gmt":"2012-04-20T15:40:52","slug":"biz-owners-amendment-one-could-harm-business-economic-development","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/2012\/04\/19\/biz-owners-amendment-one-could-harm-business-economic-development\/","title":{"rendered":"Biz owners: Amendment One could harm business, economic development"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>By Margot C. Lester<\/strong><br \/>\n<em>Correspondent<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Much has made of the moral and religious reasons to be for or against Amendment One, the constitutional change that would make marriage between a man and a woman the only domestic union legally recognized by the state. <\/p>\n<p>That hue and cry often drowns out another important consideration: the impact on business growth and economic development. Many observers fear passage of Amendment One will create negative ripples extending from the ballot box to the boardrooms and back offices of businesses large and small all over The Old North State, and local chambers of commerce have joined many business owners, scholars and government officials in decrying the proposal. The Chapel Hill-Carrboro Chamber was the first in the state to publicly oppose the amendment; Durham\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s chamber followed suit. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Employee recruitment, retention<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>One factor driving business opposition is the significant consequences the amendment has for employers\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 abilities to provide benefits like health insurance to same- and opposite-sex domestic partners and their children. <\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_25258\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-25258\" style=\"width: 267px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.carrborocitizen.com\/main\/2012\/04\/19\/biz-owners-amendment-one-could-harm-business-economic-development\/amendmentone041912_web\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-25258\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.carrborocitizen.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/amendmentOne041912_web.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"amendmentOne041912_web\" width=\"267\" height=\"400\" class=\"size-full wp-image-25258\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/amendmentOne041912_web.jpg 267w, https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/amendmentOne041912_web-100x150.jpg 100w, https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/amendmentOne041912_web-75x113.jpg 75w, https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/amendmentOne041912_web-66x100.jpg 66w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 267px) 100vw, 267px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-25258\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Diane Koistinen, owner of The Beehive Salon in Carrboro, stands proudly with the sign proclaiming that her business is against Amendment One. a number of local business owners believe the amendment would be bad for business. Photo by Alicia Stemper<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>As written, Amendment One includes a provision covering \u00e2\u20ac\u0153private contracts\u00e2\u20ac\u009d such as employment agreements. But most North Carolina workers are \u00e2\u20ac\u0153at-will\u00e2\u20ac\u009d employees with no formal contracts. That means that unless a specific law or employment contract protects employees, an employer can \u00e2\u20ac\u0153treat its employees as it sees fit,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d according to the State Department of Labor\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s website. Employees in those situations are not covered under the private contracts provision of the amendment. <\/p>\n<p>A 2005 study from Hewitt Associates noted that the number-one reason for offering benefits to same- and opposite-sex domestic partners is employee recruitment and retention. That means the amendment could also hurt employers\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 abilities to attract and keep the best and brightest talent.<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153The last thing you want to do is to put a barrier in the hiring process that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not related to someone\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s ability to do the job,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d notes Joel Sutherland, partner\/developer at New Media Campaigns in Carrboro. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Amendment One\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s going to have an impact.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n<p>It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s also a problem for large employers. Eighty-nine percent of Fortune 500 companies prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation. Among them are homegrown corporations like BB&#038;T, Bank of America, Duke Energy and Lowe\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s unclear if Amendment One would put these employers \u00e2\u20ac\u201c or their peers relocating here \u00e2\u20ac\u201c in violation of their own corporate policies.<\/p>\n<p>Which brings us to a related concern: lawsuits. Beyond legal challenges to the amendment itself, many legal experts believe its broad language will open employers to potential legal action by employees. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a turn-off to businesses looking to relocate or expand to North Carolina.<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Passage of Amendment One would introduce uncertainly, controversy and unknowns that are not currently present [for] prospective businesses considering North Carolina as a location for operations,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d warns Steve Brantley, director of Orange County Economic Development. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Some firms could forecast such a significant and worrisome impact to their employee-recruitment effort that they might elect to move elsewhere, and not have the added challenges imposed by Amendment One.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Entrepreneurial development<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Others, like entrepreneurship expert Monica Doss, worry that the amendment would stifle the economic recovery by hurting entrepreneurial development. <\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve worked hard over the past three decades to emphasize North Carolina\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s strengths as a forward-thinking community that values creativity, intellectual prowess and diversity,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d says Doss, former leader of the Council for Entrepreneurial Development and now a principal with Entrepreneurial Collaborations. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153North Carolina has prospered from its ability to attract the best and the brightest. That&#8217;s the foundation of our entrepreneurial success. Sending the message that the state is constitutionally opposed to any group of people will have a chilling effect. We will take a giant step backwards if Amendment One is passed.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n<p>Dave Neal, managing director of Triangle Startup Factory, a business incubator\/accelerator in Durham, concurs. <\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153We are attempting to market the Triangle as a not only a great place to start a business but as a great place to live,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he says. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153If Amendment One passes, it would be interpreted by some as a negative sign about living in North Carolina. In this way, the passage of Amendment One could make it more difficult for us to recruit entrepreneurs to the area.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n<p>Tar Heel entrepreneurs also could find it hard to recruit talent and financing. <\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153California dominates the venture-backed job market. If we aim to pull tech talent to RTP \u00e2\u20ac\u201c talent that tends to be young, hip and gay-friendly \u00e2\u20ac\u201c it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll be tough if we are perceived as a backwater,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d says Patrick Vernon, clinical assistant professor of entrepreneurship at UNC\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Kenan-Flagler Business School. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Similarly, venture capitalists may write off North Carolina as undesirable and\/or lacking an innovative spirit \u00e2\u20ac\u201c quelling the creative class.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Competitive edge<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>North Carolina is the last Southern state without a marriage amendment, something Brantley says gives it an edge in the marketplace. <\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153One of this state\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s leading advantages in this very competitive, multi-state approach to economic development is the well-established view that North Carolina is usually more progressive and visionary,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d says Brantley, who worked more than 20 years for the state Department of Commerce. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Compared to other states, and especially here in the South, North Carolina generally takes the lead on issues benefiting all of its citizens. North Carolina set the example, while our neighboring Southern states watched and eventually tried to copy. <\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Passage of Amendment One would dilute the progressive nature of our state\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s character and its direction, and therefore risk eliminating one of our strongest and most appealing business advantages.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Bottom line issue<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Moral issues aside, many business owners say Amendment One is bad for business because it violates both the profit and the people elements of the bottom line.<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153If this passes, it may dissuade people from moving to North Carolina and becoming future clients,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d notes entrepreneur Diane Koistinen, owner\/stylist at The Beehive in Carrboro. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I would think twice about moving to a state where they are taking away rights. I would think twice about moving somewhere that endorses discrimination. If people don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t move here \u00e2\u20ac\u201c or if they move away \u00e2\u20ac\u201c because North Carolina discriminates against certain people, you have fewer people to buy your products or use your services.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n<p>Adds Adam Abram, CEO of James River Group in Raleigh: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re in a worldwide competition in which we want to have as many talented people in our state as is possible. I want to make the most hospitable, safe and welcoming environment here for everybody who\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s able and interested in contributing to the state\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s well-being. Making a constitutional amendment and carving in stone a \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcnot welcome here\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 sign is contrary to the ethic of our state.<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t tell talented people to go away. Amendment One\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not right. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not moral. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not us at our best.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n<p><em>Margot Lester is chair of the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Chamber of Commerce economic development and public policy committee and supports its opposition to Amendment One.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Much has made of the moral and religious reasons to be for or against Amendment One, the constitutional change that would make marriage between a man and a woman the only domestic union legally recognized by the state. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":25258,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,30],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25256","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-top-story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25256","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25256"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25256\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25292,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25256\/revisions\/25292"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25258"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25256"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25256"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25256"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}