(The Center Square) – Michigan ranked 36th nationally in a new report from the American Legislative Exchange Council.
The fourth annual “States That Work: A Labor Policy Roadmap Across America” report ranked all 50 states on recommended policy reforms related to “worker freedom and economic mobility.”
“When states get labor policy right, the American Dream becomes an American reality,” the report said. “Using this information, workers, businesses, and lawmakers can identify if a state’s policies are hindering or protecting workers’ freedom and flexibility.”
Michigan received only 1.5 stars of the 10 stars available.
The stars were awarded for each law passed, symbolizing “consequential reforms that promote worker and workplace freedom.” These include everything from right-to-work legislation to licensing review laws and more.
A half-star indicates that significant exemptions or non-recommended standards may be included in the state’s legislation while empty stars indicate that the reform is not active in a state.
Each law was evaluated and selected by ALEC’s Commerce, Insurance, and Economic Development Task Force.
The council is a nonpartisan organization of state legislators that promotes policies centered on limited government, free markets, and federalism.
Michigan received one star for its Open Contracting Act, which prohibits public agencies from imposing labor requirements as a condition of performing public works. The state received its other half-star for its Collateral Consequences Reduction, which helps reduce barriers to employment and other opportunities for people with criminal records.
The report’s author and ALEC Commerce, Insurance and Economic Development Task Force Director Alan Jernigan spoke with The Center Square regarding the report’s results.
“One reform Michigan received full credit for was banning project labor agreements,” Jernigan said. “This protection prevents discrimination against non-union members and promotes competitiveness on construction projects.”
The report also looked at jobs in the state and union membership.
On the job front, Michigan ranked 15th on government sector job prevalence, 30th on state minimum wage, and 39th on average 10-year private sector employment growth.
On union membership, the Great Lakes state ranked 33rd and 46th on public and private union membership respectively.
“With a 36th overall ranking, it comes as no surprise that Michigan also ranked 39th in private sector employment growth,” Jernigan said. “The policy landscape deters both businesses and workers from calling Michigan home. When Michigan repealed right to work, the state made it clear that its interests favor third parties rather than the workers themselves.”
Jernigan added that right-to-work laws, which prohibit requiring employees to join a union or pay union dues as a condition of employment, were pivotal to most of the states that scored well on the report.
“Twenty-six of the top 28 states have adopted right to work,” he said. “States that get this policy right tend to create environments that expand opportunity and flexibility for workers.”
Arizona, Mississippi, Georgia, Arkansas, and West Virginia were ranked in the top five. At number one nationally, Arizona still reported just 5.5 stars.
On the flip side, the bottom five states from the last report remained the same this year. Those states are Connecticut, New York, Oregon, Massachusetts, and Alaska.
“States that have created barriers limiting worker freedom and flexibility have taken no steps to change course, which creates a dull outlook for opportunity and progress,” Jernigan said.
This doesn’t mean improvement is impossible, though, as Jernigan pointed to the states that improved from the previous report as notable examples of progress.
“Two states, Mississippi and West Virginia, made leaps into the top five due to their policy developments since the last report,” Jernigan said. “The states that are making good labor policy a priority are not only seeing improvements in their rankings but are also opening the doors of opportunity.”