Pennsylvania Labor Policies Rank Low Nationally

Pennsylvania labor policies rank among the lowest nationally, according to a new report.

The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) published States That Work: A Labor Policy Roadmap Across America, highlighting how each state fosters “a labor policy landscape that promotes flexibility and removes barriers to help individuals access work and thrive on the job.” The report also compares states and produces rankings based on how well they prioritize “labor freedom.”

To determine its rankings, ALEC compiled extensive data related to state-level policies. Such policies include the state’s right-to-work laws (if applicable), occupational licensing requirements, prohibitions on taxpayer-funded union activities, and several other measurements.

ALEC assigns stars to states that have passed and adopted such reforms. States also receive half stars for partial reforms that include excessive legal exemptions. The top states, Arizona and Utah, received 5.5 stars, while Pennsylvania only received 1.5.

The report also compiles relevant data on state-level workforces. Metrics include union membership percentages and average 10-year employment growth. With all the data aggregated, Pennsylvania ranks 33rd in the national report.

The rankings also reveal some interesting features of Pennsylvania’s workforce.

For example, Pennsylvania’s employment growth over the last decade has been stagnant, with only 8 percent growth since 2014. Meanwhile, states like Idaho, Utah, Nevada, Florida, and Arizona have all surpassed 30 percent during the same period.

On the other hand, the Keystone State has the lowest rate of government jobs compared to total non-farm jobs, at 11.2 percent, a positive factor in ALEC’s rankings. Comparatively, Wyoming, the state with the largest proportion of government jobs, has more than double that of Pennsylvania, at 24 percent.

Yet, Pennsylvania’s government workforce is among the most unionized in the country, alongside its union-dominated neighbors New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, and Massachusetts. More than half—54 percent—of Pennsylvania government workers are union members. ALEC’s highly ranked states like South Carolina and North Carolina have fewer union members within their public sectors, with 5.6 percent and 7.8 percent, respectively.

Though nowhere near its public sector counterparts, Pennsylvania’s private sector is also highly unionized. The commonwealth’s trade union membership (7.8 percent) is almost fivefold higher than South Carolina’s, the state with the lowest rate (1.6 percent).

ALEC concludes that the responsibility to address these issues rests primarily on state lawmakers. “Pro-worker policies in this publication can serve as a roadmap as lawmakers aim to distinguish their states as places where Americans can pursue happiness and build a better life,” the report concludes.

So long as Pennsylvania lawmakers cater to the whims of union executives rather than rank-and-file workers, the commonwealth’s economic competitiveness will remain low nationally.