(The Center Square) – Worker freedom and labor reforms are fifth best in the nation in Florida, says the American Legislative Exchange Council in a report released Tuesday morning.
States That Work: A Labor Policy Roadmap Across America, as the analysis is titled, grades policies on labor unions, occupational licensing, the size of state and local government workforces, private sector job growth, open contracting laws that prevent discrimination against nonunion bidders, state minimum wage and a state’s political climate.
The Sunshine State was praised by the nonprofit policy group for its status as a right-to-work state, small government workforce (11.57%, third best nationally), First Amendment protections for workers, and its roaring 10-year, private sector job growth (31.64%, fourth best).
One area of concern from the report’s authors is the state’s $13 per hour minimum wage, which will continue to increase by $1 each Sept. 30 until 2026, when it’ll be increased to $15. Amendment 2 was passed by more than 60% of the vote in 2020.
According to the report, the state has a private workforce of nearly 8.3 million, with only 206,899 of them (2.5%) with a union card. That’s seventh best nationally.
The state’s government work force of nearly 1.15 million ranked Florida 22nd best, with 20.48% of them (234,596) belonging to a union.
“Florida is the proof that freedom works,” said Alan Jernigan, manager of the ALEC Commerce, Insurance and Economic Development Task Force. “With Right to Work, strong Janus protections, and a booming private sector, Florida has become the destination of choice for workers and entrepreneurs alike. Nearly 2 million people have moved to Florida in the last decade. That’s not a trend – it’s a mandate.”
Janus v. American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees was a 2018 landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision that ruled that public sector employees weren’t required to pay union dues as a condition of employment.
Arizona was ranked first by the report, followed by Utah, Georgia and Arkansas.
Alaska was worst, followed by Massachusetts, Oregon, New York and Connecticut.
ALEC bills itself as “America’s largest nonpartisan, voluntary membership organization of state legislators dedicated to the principles of limited government, free markets and federalism. Comprised of nearly one-quarter of the country’s state legislators and stakeholders from across the policy spectrum, ALEC members represent more than 60 million Americans and provide jobs to more than 30 million people in the United States.”
