Governors are uniquely able to advance an economic agenda that reflects the needs of the working class, giving them the opportunity to illustrate a contrast with the Trump administration, whose policies favor billionaires at the expense of working people.1 They can do so through a variety of policies and executive actions designed to build the power and raise the pay of everyday Americans. For example, they can expand labor rights and allow workers to negotiate on an even playing field with large corporations, strengthen minimum wage and overtime protections and enforcement, and ensure that government spending creates good jobs.
These actions would be good for workers and represent a progressive economic vision that counters the Trump administration’s anti-worker actions that have effectively halted workers’ ability to hold corporations that violate workers’ union rights accountable; shuttered the agency that protects everyday Americans from bank scams; broken contracts and revoked the bargaining rights of unionized public employees; and fired thousands of park rangers, emergency response staff, and other public workers who rely on their paychecks to get by.2
Consistent and outspoken action on policies to rebalance power in the U.S. economy will demonstrate who actually stands with workers.
Increasingly, progressive governors are moving to improve the economic well-being of their working-class residents. However, leaders in every state could do far more to empower working families and to create a starker contrast with the Trump administration’s harmful policies. Consistent and outspoken action on policies to rebalance power in the U.S. economy will demonstrate who actually stands with workers.
The working-class playbook
Governors should focus on legislation and executive actions that reverse the declining fortunes of the working class by strengthening its power in the economy, improving baseline standards and government enforcement of those standards, and spurring the creation of good jobs. This will improve the lives of everyday Americans whose wages have stagnated for more than half a century while corporations received the returns of their increasing productivity.3
Research shows that Americans without a four-year college degree prefer these sorts of “predistribution” policies that boost workers’ earnings and empower them to bargain for more from their employers over redistributive, after-the-fact tax and transfer programs.4 This preference may reflect a desire for economic independence and dignified work, a lack of trust in government alone to deliver enough supplemental income, and the belief that the current economic system stacks the deck in favor of corporations and the wealthy.5
Similarly, surveys find that Americans today are more supportive of labor rights than they have been in the past 50 years. About 70 percent of Americans approve of unions, and in another survey, approximately half of nonunion respondents said they would join a union if they could.6 The vast majority of Americans across party lines support policies that boost earnings such as minimum wage and overtime increases.7
Despite its promises to strengthen the working class, the Trump administration has taken no real actions to achieve these goals. Instead, it has attacked federal workers’ unions and bargaining protections, opposed improvements to pay standards, and undermined the federal government’s ability to fulfill its commitments to enforce even the most basic workplace laws.8
Governors who want to demonstrate their commitment to the working class should advance the following policies.
Give working people a raise
Inflation remains high under the Trump administration, yet President Donald Trump recently argued against a federal minimum wage of $8 per hour, and a federal court judge appointed during the first Trump administration struck down a Biden administration rule to expand overtime protections for nearly 4 million American workers.9 Governors can give working people a raise by increasing the state-level minimum wage, expanding eligibility for overtime and unemployment insurance, and empowering workers outside of unions to negotiate for fair pay and benefits by creating industry standards boards that bring workers, employers, and the government together to set minimum workplace standards across an entire sector of the economy.10
Empower workers to unionize
The Trump administration is making it nearly impossible for many workers to unionize and bargain by effectively shuttering the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), which ensures corporations respect unionized workers’ rights; by rescinding Biden administration-era guidance that expanded union protections to more workers; by eliminating bargaining rights for federal workers; and by firing thousands of federal employees.11 Governors can demonstrate their support for workers’ union rights by banning right-to-work laws, extending bargaining rights to more state and local government workers and private sector workers excluded from federal labor law, supporting mediation services to unions and businesses during contract negotiation disputes, and allowing striking workers to collect unemployment insurance.12
Create good union jobs through government spending
The Trump administration is rescinding and threatening critical federal investments enacted during the Biden administration that support the creation of good union jobs in industries such as broadband, semiconductors, and clean energy.13 As governors fight to maintain public and private investments, they should ensure that all state-level public support for private companies requires recipients to create good jobs and a good value for the investment by adopting market pay standards as well as encouraging the use of project labor agreements, responsibility standards, and other sorts of agreements to support the consistent delivery of goods and services.14
Expand pathways into high-quality jobs
Registered apprenticeship programs provide paid, on-the-job training. Registered apprenticeship programs administered through a labor management-partnership result in earnings gains commensurate with a bachelor’s degree.15 In April, the Trump administration announced a goal of significantly expanding these sorts of programs, but its proposed budget for fiscal year 2026 would undermine the growth of registered apprenticeships by slashing funding for workforce development by one-third; it is also rescinding Biden administration policies that expanded apprenticeships among contractors, grantees, and government employers.16 Governors should double down on their support for high-quality training that leads to good union jobs by promoting registered apprenticeships, increasing the number of worker representatives on workforce boards, and expanding the use of and funding for other sorts of labor-management training partnerships.17
Enforce the law
Working people lose hope in the government’s ability to deliver higher standards when corporations get away with lawbreaking. Yet the Trump administration has effectively shuttered the NLRB, which holds companies that illegally fire or otherwise violate private sector workers’ union rights accountable; the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, which helps prevent discrimination among contracting corporations; and dozens of regional offices that enforce minimum pay and safety standards.18 Governors can make it clear that all corporations in their state are required to abide by workplace laws by fully funding state workplace enforcement agencies; educating workers—through websites, outreach, and partnerships with worker organizations—on their workplace rights and how to enforce them; allowing workers to sue when their rights are violated; protecting employees from being fired without good reason; and collaborating with unions and worker centers to increase effective use of unemployment insurance.19
Protect workers from spying bosses
The Trump administration has eliminated safeguards on how big tech companies can use artificial intelligence (AI); placed Americans’ personal information at risk by centralizing data collected by the government, including Social Security, tax, and medical records; and is supporting federal legislation that, at the time of publication, would enact a 10-year moratorium on the enforcement of state and local laws regulating AI.20 Governors should support laws to protect workers from the misuse of AI and other technologies by requiring employer disclosure of AI use, banning AI’s most harmful applications, and protecting workers most at risk of exploitation from its misuse.21 Furthermore, they should join with state lawmakers from across the country to oppose federal preemption of state and local laws to protect their communities from AI-related harms.22
Ban practices undermining worker power
The Trump administration’s appointees have rescinded and halted the defense of policies that prevent workers from being forced to sign noncompete agreements, which stop them from moving to new jobs that pay better wages.23 Corporations commonly require even low- and middle-income workers to sign noncompete agreements, which research shows lower earnings, reduce entrepreneurship, and inhibit the growth of strong regional economies.24 Governors should ban noncompete agreements and other sorts of corporate control such as forcing workers to attend meetings about a corporation’s religious or political views.25 In addition, state policymakers should overturn preemption laws that bar local governments from passing strong labor standards, such as actions to raise the minimum wage, adopt contracting standards, or guarantee sick leave.26
Governors are fighting for the working class
Increasingly, progressive governors are taking on the mantle of the working class and enacting laws to empower workers without a four-year college degree. Take, for example, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D), who outperformed former President Joe Biden’s 2020 performance in Michigan in her last election, winning by 11 percentage points in 2022. Gov. Whitmer signed legislation in recent years repealing the state right-to-work law, reestablishing state prevailing wage protections, strengthening public sector bargaining protections, and restoring bargaining rights for 30,000 home health care workers in the state.27
Similarly, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) signed into law a comprehensive labor law reform package that includes provisions to strengthen public sector bargaining; increase protections for workers in the warehousing, meat and poultry processing, agriculture, and construction industries; and create a nursing home workforce standards board.28 Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) enacted laws that strengthen public sector bargaining rights and signed executive orders to expand the use of project labor agreements and increase funding for high-quality workforce training.29 Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker (D) championed a new law that would ban corporations from forcing workers to attend meetings on their employers’ religious or political views and celebrated the passage of a ballot initiative that amended the state constitution to guarantee the right to bargain, describing it as “a major win for workers rights that will outlast any single politicians’ term.”30
Furthermore, all governors can use the following strategies to improve economic conditions for working families and ensure that working-class constituents in their state understand how these policies contrast with those of the Trump administration.
Build trust through consistency
While several states—including Michigan, Minnesota, and California—adopted major labor reforms in 2023, worker advocates express concern that progress on workplace protections has slowed or that state leaders, under pressure from corporate lobbyists, are willing to compromise or walk away from policies that build power for workers.31 Inconsistency on core economic issues makes Americans without a college degree question the sincerity of their elected leaders.
In recent interviews, progressive state legislators have reported that their unswerving fight for the economic underdog builds trust with constituents and helps overcome differences on cultural issues.32
These reforms should also be part of a broader vision in which the government critically assists working people, checks corporate power in the economy, and stands publicly on the side of workers over specific corporations in fights to ensure workers’ rights are protected.33
At a recent United Auto Workers (UAW) convention, Gov. Whitmer told delegates: “To anyone who wants to shortchange our workers, my message is clear: Not on my watch. I am a pro-worker governor to the core, and I will continue to fight for working people, and I know who we’re up against.”34
Enforce workplace standards
Robust public enforcement of existing workplace laws can help raise standards and demonstrate to working-class residents that workplace protections are not empty promises.
After Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D) issued an executive order in January 2024 to renew and expand cross-government enforcement of wage theft and misclassification of employees as independent contractors, a newly created task force identified nearly 6,000 misclassified workers and more than $36 million in unreportable taxable wages in its first year of operation.35 Gov. Moore’s administration is also pushing to change the law to strengthen the state’s capacity to hold lead contractors accountable for subcontractor violations.36 Research finds that publicizing enforcement efforts and shaming bad actors can lead to outsize compliance benefits. A 2020 Duke University study found that one press release naming a corporation violating workplace laws has the same effect on compliance as an additional 210 safety inspections.37
High-profile enforcement fights also allow administrations to continue to highlight a policy win, assert priorities even when those priorities are blocked by anti-worker legislatures, and illustrate a sincere commitment to changing the balance of power in the economy. Indeed, without strong enforcement, workers may become disillusioned with the ability of legislative reforms to translate into substantive improvements.
Join the fight
Policymakers must wade into specific organizing fights in which corporations are undermining workers’ voices and breaking bargaining laws. Lawmakers should focus on leveraging their bully pulpit—a public official’s ability to gain attention and sway key actors through public speech and private convenings because of their prominent position—to encourage workers to exercise their rights and to push lawbreaking corporations to come into compliance.38 This moves beyond offering general rhetorical support for the right to organize or attempting to arbitrate the truth of what is happening during negotiations to clearly side with workers whose livelihoods are on the line.
During UAW’s high profile 2023 strike, Gov. Andy Beshear (D-KY) joined workers on the picket line and made his support for striking workers clear: “Our UAW families are fighting for better wages and better health care benefits—something we should want for every single one of our citizens. We need them to come out of this being able to provide more opportunity for their kids and a better future here in Kentucky.”39
Bully pulpit advocacy helps neutralize the impact of anti-union politicians. For example, President Trump publicly lauded Elon Musk’s efforts to break Tesla workers’ unionization efforts.40 And in his 2024 State of the State address, Gov. Henry McMaster (R-SC) argued that “generations of South Carolinians … face a clear and present danger from the big labor unions” and vowed to fight “to the gates of hell” to prevent unions from coming to South Carolina.41
In addition to walking the picket line, pro-worker governors can invite striking workers to the governor’s mansion; use public speeches such as their State of the State address to reiterate support for workers in specific organizing fights; and engage in public and private communications to employers throughout the entire labor organizing process: when workers start to organize, when they engage in voting, and when they negotiate a first contract.42
In this way, governors can demonstrate to the working class that they are sincere in their support, committed to achieving real change, and willing to take on the most powerful actors in the state’s economy.
Conclusion
Working Americans have been struggling for decades. Governors have significant opportunity to advance economic reforms that meet workers’ needs and create a contrasting vision to the Trump administration’s broken promises to working people. Pro-worker governors should stand with workers every chance they get, including advancing aggressive pro-worker agendas, ensuring strong public enforcement of existing workplace laws, and standing with workers when they are on the picket line negotiating for decent wages.