Wages for too many working Americans have stagnated over the past several decades, even as corporate profits have approached record highs and CEO pay skyrockets. A key reason for this is that workers still do not have sufficient power to negotiate for higher compensation. Decades of attacks against collective bargaining, along with changing economic and employment structures, have weakened worker power. While federal reforms are necessary to rebalance power across the economy and fix many structural issues facing workers, state lawmakers can empower workers to bargain for decent working conditions and support good-quality jobs in local communities, even without federal action.
This issue brief details eight ways that states can continue growing worker power and improving the lives of working people in the U.S. economy.
The above excerpt was originally published in the Center for American Progress.
Click here to view the full report.