New Yorkers are Moving to Florida—and Government Unions are to Blame
What do former President Donald Trump, Derek Jeter, Jennifer Lopez, and millions of New Yorkers have in common? They all packed their bags and moved to the Sunshine State. In 2022, more than half a million New Yorkers moved to Florida, now the fastest-growing state. Meanwhile, New York experienced its heaviest population decline.
At the same time, government union membership rates in the two states experience the inverse: Organized labor increasingly dominates—if not outright owns—New York, while its sway and influence dwindles in Florida.
Coincidence? We think not.
When asked why they ditched the Empire State for the Sunshine State, New York expatriates cite financial reasons. Aside from their preference for warmer weather, these ex-New Yorkers also celebrate Florida’s affordable cost of living and lower taxation.
Yet, their reasoning describes the effects of bad policy, not the cause. And the lion’s share of the blame for New York’s high taxes belongs to those running New York’s biggest public sector unions.
Indeed, government salaries and benefits comprise New York’s largest public expense. Per capita, state and local government expenditures in New York are the third-highest in the nation, trailing sparsely populated Wyoming and Alaska.
Recent events indicate New York plans on sticking with its high-tax trajectory.
New York lawmakers are about to funnel a significant chunk of state funding—about $4 billion—toward government pensions. This unprecedented spending will overwhelm school districts, local governments, and taxpayers, forcing cuts and increased taxes to make up for the difference.
This is not an isolated incident. New York unions have a long history of lobbying for increased taxes, often finger-pointing “the rich” for the government budget shortfalls they caused.
So, why is the New York State Assembly ignoring the increased tax burden created by government unions? Simply put, Albany answers to public sector unions, which have managed a near-complete takeover of state government without firing a shot.
According to the Commonwealth Foundation’s recent study on unionization in state government, New York has more unionized state employees than any other state with responsive data. Nearly 100 percent of New York state employees have union representation, a higher share than every state but Connecticut.
These unions have effectively captured every workplace in New York’s state government and collectively control every state employee’s working life. The number of state workers represented by unions means that the state can do little to direct its workforce without the permission of a few powerful union executives, often resulting in extortive circumstances that diminish worker rights.
Meanwhile, Florida offers a diametrically opposed scenario.
In Florida, unions represent about 42 percent of the state workforce. However, the membership rate, which measures how many unionized workers choose to become dues-paying members, is about 16 percent.
It’s no coincidence that Florida law checks union power by, for example, requiring union officials to advise members of their rights before they join, including the right not to join.
Recent Florida legislation will likely continue to water down government unions’ political influence. In 2023, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed legislation upping the recertification requirement, which gauges the level of union support among its members, to 60 percent. Unions that can’t meet that threshold must now recertify.
This new recertification criteria is already having sweeping effects in Florida. Since the new law went into effect last year, dozens of public sector unions have lost certification due to a lack of popular support.
Florida provides a teachable moment for New York.
Collective bargaining assumes that unionized employees and employers have adverse, competing interests. As such, a government has no business helping public sector unions attract and maintain members. If a union becomes powerful enough in state government—whether by its sizable membership or outside political spending—to enact policies that make unionizing and recruiting workers easier, the public sector union experiment has failed.
Moreover, we must celebrate the individual right to freely associate with any organization they choose. States should follow Florida’s lead and enact reforms that proactively safeguard members’ rights and mitigate the power of aggressive public sector union officials.
Otherwise, states risk following New York’s lead, where tax-weary residents show their disapproval by voting with their feet.
David R. Osborne is the Senior Fellow of Labor Policy and Andrew Holman is a Policy Analyst with the Commonwealth Foundation, Pennsylvania’s free-market think tank.
