The Best States to Work Index is meant to inspire a race to the top for all states and serve as an advocacy tool to help policymakers identify areas for improvement, Oxfam stated.
Now in its sixth edition, the nonprofit’s annual index highlights widening policy gaps among states.
Puerto Rico has taken the 16th position in the Oxfam Best States to Work Index as one of the “best” jurisdictions for workers, particularly excelling “in rights to organize and worker protections” among all 50 U.S. states and territories.
The global organization fighting inequality to end poverty and injustice released the index ahead of Labor Day. The District of Columbia earned the top spot as the “best” place for workers, followed closely by California (#2), Oregon (#3), New York (#4), and Washington (#5).
By contrast, North Carolina ranked at the bottom as the “worst” state for the third consecutive year, followed by Mississippi (#51), Georgia (#50), Alabama (#49), and South Carolina (#48).
The index tracks 27 policies across three dimensions — wages, worker protections and rights to organize — to determine which states have taken measures “to fill the gaps left by federal inaction to support low-wage workers and working families,” Oxfam stated.
The results for Puerto Rico show that it drew an overall score of 60.47, with specific scores of 41.81 for wage policies (ranking 28th among all jurisdictions), 67.86 in worker protections (ranking 6th), and 80 for rights to organize (ranking 13th).
“As part of Oxfam’s mission to combat inequality around the world, our Best States to Work Index is an important tool in our ongoing fight against working poverty and the unfair labor practices we see in our own backyard here in the United States. Too many working families across the country are struggling to make ends meet, and our government must do more to support them: It’s time to raise wages, strengthen worker protections and protect the right to organize across the country,” said Abby Maxman, CEO of Oxfam America.
“When states invest in strong labor policy landscapes, it pays off in a serious way. Measures of both worker well-being and economic outlook are strongly correlated with high placement on our index, and it’s clear these policies benefit everyone,” said Kaitlyn Henderson, report author and senior researcher at Oxfam America.
“Continued federal inaction on basic things like living wages and paid leave has trapped millions of families across the U.S. in cycles of working poverty and exacerbated inequality along lines of race, class and gender. Federal policymakers should take inspiration from the states at the top of our index. We have the models, and we know they work,” Henderson added.
For the most part, state rankings have stayed within a few points of the 2023 index, underscoring the importance of federal policy change to move the needle for all workers, regardless of location within the United States, the nonprofit stated.
“Workers need more robust protections at both the state and federal levels,” Oxfam said. The organization recommends several “urgent policy initiatives to help support workers and their families,” including:
Raise wages: Oxfam calls on policymakers to raise the wage at both the state and federal levels. “Subminimum tipped wages should be abolished, minimum wage exclusions of certain workers must end, and the minimum wage needs to be lifted.”
Strengthen worker protections: “We need more robust worker protections at the state and federal levels, including paid family and medical leave, stronger equal pay laws, heat protection standards, paid pumping breaks, and protections for domestic workers.”
Protect rights to organize: “The federal government must protect and expand workers’ rights to organize and collectively bargain. States must repeal ‘right-to-work’ laws, which undermine worker power; protect public employees’ rights to collectively bargain; and extend organizing rights to excluded workers.”
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Publish date : 2024-09-02 22:01:00
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