Louisiana all too often finds itself at the bottom of all the good lists, and at the top of the bad ones. This time, the state earns a mediocre grade for its public sector labor laws because they fail to provide sufficient protection to workers and taxpayers. The Commonwealth Foundation’s September 2024 report, The Battle for Worker Freedom: Grading State Public Sector Labor Laws, assigns Louisiana a “C” grade. By contrast, the report recognizes Florida, Arkansas, Kentucky, and Tennessee—states that are growing—for their efforts to adopt pro-worker, pro-taxpayer reforms similar to those the Louisiana Legislature considered in the spring of 2024.

What’s behind Louisiana’s undistinguished grade? The report authors assigned a “C” grade to states where only some or a few taxpayers’ and workers’ rights are protected. Specifically, these states statutorily authorize collective bargaining and payroll deduction (the practice of allowing public employers to collect dues from employee paychecks on the union’s behalf). Their laws related to public employees may also be vague enough for unions to secure privileges through collective bargaining agreements. Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, South Dakota, and Utah also received a “C” grade.

The report notes that the government union reforms the Louisiana Legislature considered during the 2024 Regular Session would have reformed a system that currently benefits unions and their leaders instead of workers and taxpayers. Furthermore, these reforms would have introduced clarity into the state’s legal regime where Louisiana courts have issued contradictory decisions about the degree of authority government employers have over public employees when government unions are involved.

Finally, the report makes special mention of the collective bargaining agreements in place parish-wide in several school districts. These agreements are especially offensive to employees’ and taxpayers’ rights because they limit members’ ability to resign to a narrow window each year, allow for the practice of release time, and permit consideration of an employee’s racial, ethnic, or gender group, rather than effectiveness, when conducting layoffs.

Louisiana has an opportunity to improve its grade on the next Commonwealth Foundation report, just as Florida did over the course of two years. The state could protect employees and taxpayers by joining the growing number of states that limit or prohibit the public payroll system from collecting union dues. Additionally, it could introduce accountability into the system by requiring periodic recertification elections so employees can have a say in whether they want a union and if so, which one. Finally, Louisiana should adopt opt-in legislation, which annually reminds public employees of their right to join, or not join, a union and that they may resign their membership at any time.