The New Mexico Senate passed a Union Security Agreements bill with a vote of 23-19 on Sunday that could ban local “right-to-work” ordinances.

Ten different counties throughout the state have currently adopted ordinances that prevent employees from being required to join a union or non-union members from paying union fees. Adoption of the bill would create uniformity throughout the state and signal to local governments that the state legislature is solely vested with the power to decide on “right-to-work” laws.

Most of the Senate Democrats, including Senator Joseph Cervantes supported the bill because the local ordinances would undercut worker wages while Senate Republicans believed the bill was overstepping on local governance in attempts to boost the economy and give workers a right to choose whether to align themselves with a union.

The bill now heads to Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham for a signature.