A new report by the Economic Policy Institute finds that collective bargaining rights are a powerful tool in closing the wage gap between public and private sector workers, even as that wage gap has widened in the past four years.
The report underscores the power of the union difference, while spotlighting the need to pass the Public Service Freedom to Negotiate Act (PSFNA), which would set minimum nationwide standards of collective bargaining rights that states must provide all public service workers.
Unions’ surging strength (and favorability) are thanks in part to the Biden-Harris administration’s efforts over the past four years to empower workers to collectively bargain, and its support of the labor movement more broadly.
At the same time, Vice President Kamala Harris has promised to continue to stand steadfastly behind workers as president. She’s promised to sign into law not only PSFNA but also the PRO Act, which make it easier for workers to join a union and penalize employers who try to stop them. That’s why it’s crucial to elect Harris this coming November.
A stark difference
For public sector workers across all demographic groups, living in a state that bans public sector collective bargaining comes at a cost.
Public sector workers in states with weak collective bargaining laws earn 20% less than their private sector counterparts, according to the report. And for state and local government workers in states with no collective bargaining rights at all? The wage gap jumps to nearly 23%.
The narrowest wage gap between public sector workers and private sector workers (17.6%) exists in states with collective bargaining rights.
The report also finds that in states with strong collective bargaining rights, the union difference raises the wages of Black, Hispanic, and non-college educated state and local government workers. In fact, the union difference is so potent among those demographics that they actually earn more than the private sector counterparts.
The report examined data from the four years since the pandemic, from March 2020 through March 2024.
Get involved
Strong public sector collective bargaining laws are also critical to stemming the public service staffing crisis.
AFSCME has been a leader in that effort, launching its Staff the Front Lines initiative in the summer of 2024 to invest in public service workers and recruit qualified and passionate people to work in public service.
Across the country and across demographic groups, the union difference helps public sector workers support their families and their communities.
To learn more about what you can do to support public service workers and pass the Public Service Freedom to Negotiate Act, click here.
And to learn how to mobilize for the Harris-Walz ticket, click here.