Texas Trails Most States for Workers’ Rights

Analysis and Commentary

Last week’s 21st-annual announcement of Texas as the state CEOs love best that issued from the Governor’s Office was widely reported by most Lone Star news outlets, but missing from their coverage was any mention of where Texas ranks when it comes to workers’ rights.

The reason for this conspicuous absence, of course, is because Texas has a poor record for workers’ rights, based on many reasonable criteria, as analyzed by watchdog organizations.

In one report from Oxfam America, a left-of-center organization advocating for progressive policies, 50 states and Puerto Rico were compared on several scales, and Texas was a long way from the top of any of them.

The state’s overall rank was 46th out of 51, putting Texas in the bottom 10 percent.

Looking at how far the state’s minimum wage would go for family of four, based on the actual cost of living, shows Texas’ $7.25-hourly wage didn’t quite cover one-fifth of an average family’s needs at 18.8 percent.

Puerto Rico was No. 16 on the overall list, with the island’s minimum wage of $10.50 covering almost one-third of their average-family’s cost of living. (31.4%)

While Texas wasn’t as far down on the list of states for wage policies or worker protections (38th and 37th), the state was nearly dead-last on the Rights-to-Organize chart.

Too Much Work

And that’s not all; Texans also have to work more than almost everybody else.

According to data, compiled by the DeMayo Law Office based on 2024 employment statistics, only one states’ workers have it worse than Texas.

The analysis showed Louisiana residents worked an average of 1,914 hours per year, or 8.35-percent more than the national average (1,766 hours.)

That translates to 147 additional hours per year, which is more than 18 extra full workdays. That study also found that Louisianans had increased their annual work time by 68 hours.

Texas was 49th on that list, as workers averaged 1,867 hours annually, or 101 hours more than the national average.

Then there are wages

According to data from the Labor Department, Texas has a significant percentage of low-wage workers, and the overall average salary in the state is lower than salaries in California, New York, or Massachusetts.

While post-pandemic wages have generally increased across the country, Texas still has a high proportion of workers earning less than $17-per-hour, and data shows significant disparities in incomes for women and minorities.

Historically, many of these factors were mitigated locally by a relatively low cost-of-living in San Angelo when compared to Dallas or Austin, but as landlords worked to reverse pandemic-period losses and maximize income potential, many rentals in town now would cost more than half of many people’s pay.

Roughly 13,540 people in San Angelo make $29,000 or less annually, with a pay scale of around $14 or less, and monthly incomes of $2,230 or less.

According to Zillow.com, the average rental price in San Angelo is about $1,500, or 67-percent of $2,300.

For generations, the commonly taught rule about rent was that it should be no more than one-third of your income.

For that to hold true in San Angelo, you would need to earn $4,500 a month, or $54,000 a year.

According to website Payscale.com, the cost of living in San Angelo is 6.6-percent higher than Abilene for some reason, with housing costs measuring 15.5-percent more. Wages between the two cities are almost identical.

Is Union a Dirty Word in Texas?

Labor organizers might suggest that generations of Texans have been conditioned to distrust and spurn unions, which suits the owner-class just fine.

But to play Devil’s Advocate, organized workers almost everywhere earn better wages, enjoy more protections and retirement options, and get raises more regularly, than their unionless counterparts — especially in Right-to-Work states.

However; the police, firefighters, electricians, and professional athletes in right-to-work states are all welcome to have unions, and guess what? They do. All of them. And they all benefit greatly from the power of collective bargaining.

According to information from the AFL-CIO, union workers in America earn significantly higher wages and receive better benefits compared to their non-union counterparts. Union members, on average, make 18-percent more than non-union workers.

The difference in wages is even more pronounced for women, and workers of color. Additionally, union workers are more likely to have employer-provided health insurance, paid sick days, and real retirement benefits

This holds true in Europe, and most other developed western countries.

Labor unions also play an important role in advocating for workers rights in Asia, but they have a more-limited effectiveness in most countries of the region with the notable exception of Japan.

Japan has more than 43,000 labor unions with a combined membership of almost 7.5 million, along with 19,139 affiliated labor organizations with memberships totaling 2,842,521.

Unions Help Workers – May Day in America

Historically, May Day was a celebration to mark the beginning of summer, with merriments and no work.

Later the date became associated with workers rights when the International Workers Congress adoped the day for that purpose during their Paris Conference in 1889.

That date was chosen by the American Federation of Labor to commemorate a general strike in the U.S., which began on May 1, 1886, and ended with the Haymarket Riot in Chicago days later.

By that time, labor unions were busy in America, where a burgeoning cadre of Robber Barrons were busy banking unbelievable sums, ill-gotten by paying their employees starvation wages.

The first union in America was the Federal Society of Journeymen Cordwainers, formed in 1794 by shoemakers in Philadelphia to campaign for shorter workdays and better wages.

Cordwainers got their name because they worked primarily with Cordovan leather, and were the makers of new shoes, as opposed to the cobblers, who did shoe repairs.

By the late 1800s, there were several major unions in the United States including the American Federation of Labor, Knights of Labor, American Railway Union, Tobacco Workers International Union, Texas State Labor Union, Boot and Shoe Workers’ Union, and more. Quite a lot more; in fact, there were about 100.

There are still many labor unions in Texas, and a quick search will turn up several for anyone who’s interested in learning more.

A May Day protest in support of Workers’ Rights is set for 4 to 6 p.m. Thursday at Spanish Park.