While the National Labor Relations Act preempts states’ ability to enact laws affecting private- sector workers’ right to collective bargaining, that hasn’t deterred several of the bluest states from tiptoeing up to that line this summer Led by Minnesota, several states have forbidden employers from compelling their employees to attend the anti-union propaganda meetings that companies routinely hold when seeking to kill off organizing efforts.
During this legislative term, California passed laws raising the wages of half a million fast-food workers to a $20/hour minimum, giving major raises to the support staff at hospitals, clinics, and nursing homes, extending unemployment insurance to strikers (a move much welcomed by the striking Hollywood guilds though it won’t take effect until January), and giving its own legislative staffs collective-bargaining rights.
The legislature also voted to create a fast-food council, where workers will sit opposite employers on a body that can prod state government to address issues of worker safety, the timing of shifts, and the like.
While none of these items directly enhance collective bargaining rights, which have been substantially diminished over the years, these actions are as close as they can come without running afoul of federal preemption.
Harold Meyerson, The American Prospect