Union Station: November 16, 2018

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On June 27, the Supreme Court issued its 5-4 ruling in Janus v. American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (Janus). The court ruled that public sector unions cannot require non-member employees to pay agency fees to cover the costs of non-political union activities. This week, we correlate the results of the Nov. 6 elections with public-sector union legislative activity in 2018.

We have tracked 203 bills related to public-sector union policy in the United States this year. One hundred twenty-eight of those bills were introduced in the 14 states we've identified as having the greatest concentration of pre- and post-Janus legislative activity. Now we take a closer look at legislative activity and midterm outcomes in these 14 states.

• Bills by partisan sponsorship: Democrats sponsored 61 relevant bills, representing 47.7 percent of the total. Republicans sponsored 50 bills, or 39.06 percent of the total. The remaining bills were sponsored on a bipartisan basis or by committees.
• Pre- and post-election trifecta status: Ballotpedia defines a trifecta as a state government in which a single party holds the governorship and majorities in both legislative chambers.
  • Before Nov. 6, Democrats held trifectas in seven of the states under consideration -- California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, New Jersey, Oregon, and Washington. Republicans held a trifecta in Ohio. The remaining states -- Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, and Vermont -- had divided government.
  • After the Nov. 6 elections, Democrats picked up trifectas in Illinois and New York, bringing their total to nine. Republicans neither gained nor lost trifectas. The number of divided governments decreased to four.
    • Illinois: Before the election, Illinois lawmakers considered 17 public-sector union policy bills. Republicans sponsored 14 of the measures, and Democrats sponsored two. A bipartisan group of lawmakers sponsored the remaining bill..
    • New York: Before the election, New York lawmakers considered nine public-sector union bills. Democrats sponsored five of the bills and Republicans sponsored two. Bipartisan groups sponsored the remaining two measures.
    • With Democrats regaining trifecta control in Illinois and New York, they may introduce and enact more relevant legislation in the coming legislative sessions. Both states’ legislatures convene Jan. 9, 2019. We'll be keeping a close eye on legislative activity as their sessions get underway.
• The table below shows the number of public-sector union bills introduced in 2018 in the 14 states under consideration. Bills are broken down by partisan sponsorship. Pre- and post-election trifecta status is also noted.

Public-sector union bills correlated with state government trifecta status
State	Democratic bills	Republican bills	Bipartisan bills	Other bills	Total	Pre-election trifecta status	Post-election trifecta status
California	14	3	0	3	20	Democratic	Democratic
Connecticut	0	0	0	2	2	Democratic	Democratic
Delaware	2	0	1	0	3	Democratic	Democratic
Hawaii	8	0	0	0	8	Democratic	Democratic
Illinois	2	14	1	0	17	Divided	Democratic
Maryland	18	4	1	2	25
Massachusetts	2	0	0	1	3
New Jersey	2	2	0	0	4	Democratic	Democratic
New York	5	2	2	0	9		Democratic
Ohio	0	5	0	0	5	Republican	Republican
Oregon	1	1	0	0	2	Democratic	Democratic
Pennsylvania	0	8	2	0	10
Vermont	2	1	0	0	3
Washington	5	10	2	0	17	Democratic	Democratic

What we've been reading:

• Press of Atlantic City, "Billboard asks teachers and state workers 'Who even cares about Janus?'" Nov. 14, 2018
• WKSU, "Union Dues Bill Gets First Hearing," Nov. 14, 2018
• The Hill, "Unions claim to avoid Janus disaster – but are they?" Nov. 10, 2018

The big picture

States in session: As of Nov. 16, state legislatures in Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Virginia are in session or special session. The remaining state legislatures have either adjourned or are in recess.

Number of relevant bills by state

As of Nov. 16, we are tracking 203 pieces of legislation dealing with public-sector employee union policy. No new bills were tracked this week. On the map below, a darker shade of green indicates a greater number of relevant bills. Click here for a complete list of all the bills we're tracking.

Number of relevant bills by current legislative status

Number of relevant bills by partisan status of sponsor(s)

See also

• Public sector union policy in the United States