State and local reforms key to revitalizing unions amid new pro-worker victories

Union resurgence depends on reshaping state and local legislation, not just federal reforms, the analysis notes. Recent primary successes for pro-worker congressional hopefuls such as Abdul El-Sayed and down-ballot winners like Janeese Lewis George signal a wave of potential allies in city halls and state capitols. While historic statutes like the 1947 Taft-Hartley amendment limited organizing, modern policies—$15 minimum wage, paid sick and parental leave, and public-sector bargaining expansions of the 1960s-70s—show how sub-national action can improve workers’ conditions.

The author points to Virginia’s 2021 repeal of the public-sector bargaining ban and Fairfax County’s large teachers’ union as a partial victory, while noting the governor’s veto of a statewide extension. Other tactics include “just cause” protections in New York City, broader unemployment-insurance eligibility for striking workers in states such as New York and Washington, and the creation of standards boards like Minnesota’s Nursing Home Workforce Standards Board.

Programs that connect unemployed workers with unions, such as Maine’s community navigator initiative, are presented as models to increase union contact. The piece concludes that coordinated pressure on both supportive and resistant officials, followed by diligent implementation and education, is essential for translating policy gains into higher union density.