For decades, union membership has been strongest among public employees. In 2023, union membership among public sector workers was more than five times that of private sector workers, 32.5% to 6% respectively. Public employee union membership increased dramatically as states extended collective bargaining rights to public sector professions, starting with Wisconsin in 1959. In recent years, state legislatures have taken action to retrench collective bargaining rights. While unions have generally supported the Democratic Party and vice versa, the politics of public sector collective bargaining rights are complex. In my book, From Collective Bargaining to Collective Begging: How Public Employees Win and Lose the Right to Bargain, I analyze the expansion and retrenchment of collective bargaining rights for public employees to make the complicated politics of public sector unions clearer.
Photo from Temple University Press
The role of partisanship during the decades of expansion was different than during the recent years of retrenchment. Decades of data tracking the expansion of collective bargaining rights to public employees shows that Democratic and Republican controlled state legislatures voted in favor of pro-labor reforms. Through the 1960s and 1970s, Republicans had incentives to support the expansion of rights because of pressure from more liberal constituents and the inclusion of strike provisions aimed at keeping labor peace. The shift in party attitudes toward public employee labor unions can be demonstrated through one example in particular. As Governor of California in 1968, Ronald Reagan signed legislation granting collective bargaining rights to county and municipal employees. Of course as president, Reagan famously busted the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (PATCO) in 1981, marking a significant change in the relationship between public employee unions and politicians.
From Collective Bargaining to Collective Begging also analyzes a time-period following the Great Recession where state legislatures aggressively pushed legislation retrenching collective bargaining rights. Retrenchment was driven by Republican state legislatures with assistance from model bills such as those drafted by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). The quantitative analysis shows a shift in the partisan politics of public employee collective bargaining rights, with the Republican Party taking a stronger stance in opposition to collective bargaining.
However, not all public employee unions are alike. Collective bargaining reforms are often targeted at teachers, while exempting public safety unions. The case studies in my book identify key factors that determine the success of public employee unions when faced with retrenchment reforms from state legislatures. Analysis from newspaper accounts and interviews with over 40 labor activists, state legislators, and journalists inform the case studies. In one case, Wisconsin Act 10, collective bargaining rights were stripped from most public employees while police and firefighters were exempt. This divide-and-conquer strategy worked. When there was a push to recall Governor Scott Walker, public safety unions continued to support the governor and ultimately the effort to remove Walker from office failed. In another case, Ohio Senate Bill 5, police and firefighters were not exempt from collective bargaining reforms. A bipartisan coalition was able to organize in opposition of the reforms and place the bill on the ballot for Ohio voters to decide. Ohioans voted overwhelmingly to repeal Ohio Senate Bill 5.
A bipartisan coalition in Ohio was one key factor for a different outcome from Wisconsin but, of course, institutions matter too. In Ohio, voters have the ability to place legislation on the ballot in a referendum, while voters in Wisconsin do not have that power. Instead, the citizens of Wisconsin have the ability to recall their governor. When given the option to remove Governor Walker because of Act 10, voters were not convinced the legislation was enough to warrant the removal of a democratically elected chief executive.
Photo from Pixabay
The lessons of From Collective Bargaining to Collective Begging, are still relevant to the political landscape. In 2023, states passed a variety of bills regarding labor unions. Some states strengthened their unions, while others weakened them. The State of Florida passed legislation that has led to tens of thousands of workers having their labor unions decertified, but police and firefighter unions are exempt. The legislation requires unions to reach at least a 60% threshold for dues paying members, but of course as a result of the exemption, police and firefighter unions can remain certified without reaching the threshold. A divide-and-conquer strategy of diminishing the power of some unions while protecting the power of other unions that provide their political support in return continues to be a strategy of legislators. Conversely, legislation in Utah that would have greatly harmed public sector unions was defeated by a broad coalition of unions including those representing teachers, police officers, and firefighters. Unions in Utah turned out in strong opposition to the bill, which would have eliminated job protections and made public employees at-will employees. The legislation was narrowly passed by a House committee and then was never brought to the floor for a vote before the legislative session ended.
From Collective Bargaining to Collective Begging analyzes expansion and retrenchment of public sector collective bargaining in all 50 states from 1960 into the 2010s. The analysis shows the changing role of partisanship in extending and retrenching rights. Case studies of legislation in Ohio and Wisconsin demonstrate the importance of the institutional policymaking powers granted to citizens and the importance of maintaining a broad coalition to defeat attacks on collective bargaining rights.
The book From Collective Bargaining to Collective Begging: How Public Employees Win and Lose the Right to Bargain is available for purchase here.
