Court rules with Haley in anti-union speech case

CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — A federal judge has sided with South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley in a lawsuit that asked the court to order her to remain neutral in union issues.

The suit was filed this year by the machinists union and the state AFL-CIO challenging anti-union statements by Haley and the head of the state labor department.

It alleged such statements could make workers think twice about trying to form a union

In a 34-page ruling issued Monday, U.S. District Judge C. Weston Houck found the defendants did nothing more than talk. The judge wrote that for the claim to be supported, their words would have to amount to coercion, intimidation or an imminent threat.

The judge said the law doesn’t prohibit the expression of political animosity toward unions.