Report: Arizona, Mississippi, Georgia top list of states embracing 'worker freedom'

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(The Center Square) – Free market state policy group the American Legislative Exchange Council Wednesday released its fourth edition of States That Work, its report ranking states according to their labor policy.

Arizona, Mississippi and Georgia have the strongest set of policies promoting “worker freedom” and economic mobility, according to the report, while Oregon, Massachusetts and Alaska ranked last.

“States That Work is a roadmap for states that want to increase worker freedom and grow their economies,” said the council’s CEO Lisa Nelson. “States like Arizona have continued to embrace these pro-worker policies, while states like New York continue to drive workers away.”

New York placed 47th.

The report grades states based on their adoption of 10 key labor policies recommended by ALEC’s Commerce, Insurance, and Economic Development Task Force and selected as “consequential reforms that promote worker and workplace freedom.”

“States that have passed substantial versions of the reforms receive a full gold star, increasing their overall Labor Policy Rank,” the report explains. “States that have passed similar reforms in need of improvement receive half stars. States that have not passed the reforms or that have repealed them receive no stars.”

Ties were broken using state employment data, with states with a higher share of government jobs ranking lower and those with a higher share of private-sector jobs ranking higher.

Arizona received full stars for five of the recommended labor policies, including the Right to Work Act, Occupational Licensing Review Act and its Prohibition on Paid Union Activity (Release Time) by Public Employees Act.

Right to Work laws ensure that no worker is required to join a union as a condition of employment and that unions cannot extract fees or dues from worker pay if that worker has chosen not to join.

The Occupational Licensing Review Act requires states to periodically review occupational licensing rules to make sure they are not overly cumbersome or preventing qualified people from working in their field.

The Prohibition on Paid Union Activity (Release Time) by Public Employees Act prohibits the practice of paying public employees for time spent in union recruiting and representation activities.

Mississippi ranked second. Like Arizona, it received full stars for its Right to Work Act, but also for its Taxpayer Dollars Protect Workers Act, Open Contracting Act, and others. It received a half star for its Occupational Licensing Review Act.

Hawaii, which ranked 41st, received 1.5 of 10 possible stars. Four of the bottom 10 states received a 0.5-star ranking, and Massachusetts and Alaska, which ranked 49th and 50th, both received zero stars.

After Arizona, Mississippi and Georgia, Arkansas, West Virginia, Florida, Tennessee, Idaho, North Carolina and Utah filled out the top ten states, according to ALEC’s ranking. Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Rhode Island, Connecticut rounded out the bottom ten, preceding New York, Oregon, Massachusetts and Alaska.