The Mackinac Center is leading labor reforms around the country and in Michigan. There is a lot of work to be done to ensure that voluntary association and mutually beneficial trade guide labor policy. A new study from the American Legislative Exchange Council highlights just how much further Michigan needs to go.
“States that Work: A Labor Policy Roadmap Across America” ranks states based on where they stand on a series of laws that support labor freedom. The laws ensure secret ballot votes for union authorization, recognize the occupational licenses issued by other states, and comply with Supreme Court rulings that recognize the right of public employees to opt out of paying unions, among others.
Michigan ranks as the 16th worst in the country, having just one of the laws that ALEC recommends. It also gets partial credit for allowing people with criminal records to get a state occupational license if their crime was not related to their license. The state would have ranked higher if legislators had not repealed Michigan’s right-to-work law in 2023.
The study also shows that unions have a larger influence in the public and private sector in Michigan than in most states. Four out of ten workers in the public sector are unionized, the 16th highest rate in the country. It’s not surprising considering that conventional public schools, the largest government employers in the state, tend to have high unionization rates. While private sector unionization has been down from more than 30% in 1980 to less than 10% today, that’s also the 12th highest rate of unionization in the country.
High levels of unionization could be a good thing for the state. But the state needs better unions. When unionization is based on coercion and force rather than voluntary association, unions don’t need the support of their members. They can engage in political activity regardless of what their own members believe. They negotiate contract terms based on ideology rather than in the interests of their members. The ongoing corruption scandals at major unions also show that they continue to steal from their own members.
There is a better way. That’s why we advocate for 21st Century Unionization, where labor policy is based on the freedom of association. It would ensure benefits for members and quality work for employers. As the ALEC study shows, we’ve got a lot of work to do.
5th
Only four states have a higher private sector unionization rate than Michigan
$10.56
The state's current minimum wage rate, scheduled to go up to $14.97 over the next three years
39%
The proportion of Michigan's state and local government workforce that is unionized
* Numbers reflect data collected as of January 1, 2025
