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Lawmakers in Wisconsin and Ohio have gotten many of the headlines for passing bills limiting public employee unions. But a new database compiled by the non-partisan National Conference of State Legislatures shows that more than 700 bills affecting unions – many of them designed to limit the political or bargaining powers of unions – have been introduced in state legislatures this year.

The database, which is updated every two weeks, currently contains 729 bills introduced in 48 different states. (Louisiana and Arkansas have no bills listed, but the Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico is considering several.)

“There are a number of states with bills similar to Wisconsin, and others that seek to curb collective bargaining rights in other ways, such as limiting the collection of dues or banning political contributions by unions,” says Jeanne Mejeur, NCSL’s program director for legislative information services.

one day these bills could become laws

Wisconsin’s bill, which was signed by Gov. Scott Walker but is now being contested in court, and the Ohio bill, shepherded by Republican Gov. John Kasich, greatly curtail the collective bargaining rights of public employees. Wisconsin’s legislation exempts public safety employees like police officers and firefighters – but Ohio’s doesn’t.

Walker is widely credited with sparking a national furor over efforts to limit unions, but the NCSL shows that other states introduced similar measures prior to the Wisconsin governor’s Budget Repair Bill, which was introduced on Feb. 15.

Republican legislators in Colorado and Nebraska introduced such bills in January that would have stopped all collective bargaining by public employees, according to the database. (The Colorado bill has been “postponed indefinitely,” but the Nebraska one is still pending.)

Georgia lawmakers introduced similar legislation in March that’s still pending. A Republican bill in Oregon would increase the state Legislature’s oversight of collective bargaining agreements negotiated by the state.

Recent passage of the high-profile Wisconsin and Ohio bills is expected to embolden efforts in other states. “Now it’s Tennessee’s turn,” said a letter posted to the Facebook page of that state’s Republican lieutenant governor, Ron Ramsey, according to the L.A. Times. Tennessee is considering a bill to limit union political activities.

Bills in Hawaii and Iowa, like Wisconsin’s Budget Repair Bill, would remove public employee contributions to health plans from collective bargaining. (The Hawaii bill was actually introduced by a Democrat, who, shortly thereafter, hastened to clarify the legislation didn’t remove the benefits themselves from bargaining, just the employee contributions.)

scott walker

Union arbitration is a complicated topic ripe for legislative meddling by both union supporters and those who seek to limit them. There has been no shortage of bills affecting this process, used to resolve disputes between employers (including public ones) and unions.

Bills limiting the awards received by public employee unions during arbitration were introduced in Connecticut, Iowa, Illinois and New York. All were sponsored by Republicans, although the Illinois bill had bi-partisan sponsorship.

Bills sponsored by Democrats, however, would expand arbitration in ways favored by unions. They were proposed in several states, many of them in the Northeast: Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island and Washington.

Other Republican legislators are seeking to limit the political influence of all unions, both public and private. Bills in California and Florida would outlaw withholding union dues by both government and private companies if the dues could later be used in political campaigns. One in New Jersey would only prohibit such withholding for public employee unions.

An Arizona bill would require unions to obtain the written consent of individual members before withholding dues for political purposes. A Tennessee proposal would require unions to establish separate dues-free funds for political efforts, and one in Illinois would prevent state employee unions from making political contributions at all.

Iowa legislators are seeking to end all withholding of union dues by school districts, the state or any other public employer in the state.

Republicans in numerous states – Virginia, Tennessee, Iowa, Indiana, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Texas – are also promoting bills that would require unions to hold secret elections. Unions generally oppose such requirements.

And that’s not even getting into the right-to-work bills proposed in recent months. This form of legislation guarantees that employees in unionized workplaces can opt out of joining their respective unions. Right-to-work states, which are mostly located in the South and West, tend to have weaker labor unions, which argue the laws create “free riders” who enjoy the benefits of collective bargaining without paying the dues. Supporters argue they ensure employees have the right to opt out of unions.

Right-to-work legislation is pending in Alaska, Hawaii, Indiana, Maryland, Minnesota, New Hampshire and Rhode Island. It was introduced in several other states this year but is now listed as dead by the NCSL database: Connecticut, Kentucky, New Mexico, Virginia and West Virginia.

Other bills introduced in Iowa and Maine would ensure the ability of public employees, but not private ones, to opt out of unions.

One Minnesota state representative, Tom Anzelc, a member of the state’s Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, is bucking the legislative tide this year. He’s sponsoring a bill that would grant collective bargaining rights to additional public employees – legislative staffers. Anzelc has been an outspoken critic of other efforts in the state’s legislature to limit unions.

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