Union leaders and candidates for governor weigh in on labor issues

MACON, Ga. (WPGA) - Manufacturing workers say they want a governor, regardless of party, who will put people before corporations.

“The main thing for us that we have been up against is the state has become so business friendly the last 8 years and really before that,” said Stacey Mixson, business manager and financial secretary for IBEW Local 1316. Mixson is also president of the Georgia State Building and Construction Trades Council.

“The pendulum has swung entirely to the business side and it’s become a really poor place for workers,” Mixson said.

Mixson is a member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and has worked in the field for more than 20 years.

Mixson said while Georgia has done more to attract businesses to the area during that time, he would like to see the same effort put toward supporting workers who have been in the state all along.

“It’s difficult for us to organize, the game is kind of rigged against us, the cost of wages aren’t keeping with inflation, it’s just not a good state for workers’ rights,” Mixson said.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics says union members made up an estimated 5.1% of wage and salary workers in Georgia in 2025.

At an event in Macon on Thursday, Democratic candidate Keisha Lance Bottoms addressed the issue.

“We need to make sure in this state that the people and the companies that are given incentives to business in this state are held accountable,” Bottoms said.

Republican candidate Rick Jackson also addressed Georgia union workers in a statement posted to Facebook on Labor Day.

“Georgia believes in the dignity of work, and Georgians prove it every single day by working hard, providing for their families and loved ones, and moving our state in the right direction,” Jackson said.

Members of unions, including the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, say they want workers to be able to organize and speak up for their rights without fear.

“We would want the people in power to help us ensure the people that they can organize without fear of retaliation and they can organize without the fear of losing their job,” said Carlos Brooks, director of organizing for North America for the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers.