Labor Climate
Pro-management labor climate
94% of all industries in Etowah County operate union-free. All precision metalworking companies in Etowah County operate union-free.
Union elections
Since the IDA’s inception in January 1985, no industry in Etowah County has been organized. The only new industries locating in Etowah County since 1985 that are unionized have national contracts and they open with union representation wherever they locate. (They are Keystone Foods-United Food and Commercial Workers, and Inteva Products, formerly GM’s Delphi Automotive Systems-International Union of Electrical Workers.)
Work stoppages
There have been no local work stoppages in any industry since 1985, when the IDA was established and began keeping records.
Right to Work
Alabama is a Right-to-Work state.
Workforce attitudes
The Industrial Development Authority regularly contacts local plant managers to provide assistance and to help solve any problems that may exist. In this process, we collected and compiled information on their experiences in the following three categories. On a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being the most favorable:
Management’s rating of labor relations in their plants was:
| Ranking | # of respondents |
| 1 | 0 |
| 2 | 5 |
| 3 | 8 |
| 4 | 39 |
| 5 | 45 |
Annual average turnover rates in their plants were:
| % turnover | # of respondents |
| 0 | 19 |
| 1-5 | 37 |
| 6-10 | 19 |
| 11+ | 9 |
Annual average absenteeism rates in their plants were:
| % absenteeism | # of respondents |
| 0 | 11 |
| 1-5 | 73 |
| 6-10 | 13 |
| 11+ | 3 |
