Our system of federal labor laws has long failed to adequately protect workers’ rights to organize and bargain collectively.
Moreover, decades of court decisions have further compounded this issue with preemption doctrines that inhibit states from legislating on labor issues to address deficiencies in federal law. But despite the limitations that federal preemption poses, creative policy approaches continue to emerge at the sub-federal level.
In our 2020 “Clean Slate for Worker Power” report, we proposed setting federal labor law as a floor and enabling policy experimentation at the state and local levels, provided that such experimentation strengthens labor standards and the right to engage in collective activity. Achieving this goal would take federal legislation, which appears unlikely in the near term.1 Nevertheless, even within the constraints of existing preemption doctrine, states and localities have been testing the bounds, passing laws, and trying new models that build worker power.
As a resource designed for policymakers, organizers, strategists, researchers, communicators, and lawyers, this toolkit surveys the landscape of worker power-building policies that have been — or might be — attempted at the state and local levels. In doing so, CLJE:Lab aims to chart possible paths forward for new policy avenues that expand organizing and foster empowerment for workers.
Using this Toolkit
Sections
This toolkit contains 11 sections featuring policies that have or may be enacted at the state and local levels to build worker power.
Structure
Each section provides background information, objectives for action, analyses of preemption risk, and options for state or local action.
Resources & Reading
Check out relevant policy trackers, publications, media, footnotes, and additional resources throughout the toolkit.
This resource is and will remain a work in progress. We plan to continue to refine and update it as often as needed, and we encourage you to check back frequently for new additions and to share your suggestions.
We’d love to hear your questions, comments, and suggestions – please reach out to CLJE:Lab Project Manager Yoorie Chang at ychang@law.harvard.edu.
Toolkit Sections
State and Local Labor Policy Working Paper Series
CLJE and Workshop hosted a convening in the fall of 2025 where academics, advocates, and experts came together to discuss a new generation of innovative ideas for how states and localities can advance worker power. This series of working papers and policy briefs explores these sorts of policies. As our federal labor law faces attacks on multiple fronts, we offer new strategies for state and local governments to strengthen worker voice, improve conditions, and foster organizing. Thank you to the conference attendees and others who have helped to shape this series.
For more information, please reach out to clje@law.harvard.edu.
Jul. 21, 2026
Model State Sectoral Bargaining Law: Expansive Board (PDF)
This Model State Sectoral Bargaining Law: Expansive Board offers lawmakers a framework for legislating groundbreaking sectoral bargaining systems that would allow multiple employers and workers to create sector-specific agreements.
Jul. 21, 2026
Model State Sectoral Bargaining Law: Limited Board (PDF)
This Model State Sectoral Bargaining Law: Limited Board offers lawmakers a framework for legislating groundbreaking sectoral bargaining systems that would allow multiple employers and workers to create sector-specific agreements.
Jul. 21, 2026
Model State Sectoral Bargaining Law User Guide and FAQ (PDF)
This User Guide provides guidance and answers to Frequently Asked Questions about the model state sectoral bargaining law.
About CLJE:Lab
CLJE:Lab is the policy and legal innovation lab at Harvard Law School’s Center for Labor and a Just Economy (CLJE). Here, our ideas for building worker power and strengthening democracy hit the ground. Our mission is to foster creativity and develop innovative approaches to empowering working people. Despite political gridlock and the challenges to passing comprehensive labor law reform, we believe there is tremendous potential for creativity and experimentation at the local, state, and federal levels to move the needle toward greater economic and political equality.
- See Clean Slate for Worker Power, Overcoming Federal Preemption: How to Spur Innovation at the State and Local Level, Lab. & Worklife Program, Harv. L. Sch. (May 2021), ↩︎
