Congress is debating legislation meant to address police misconduct along with a further aid package for state and local governments struggling with budget deficits. Whether those bills pass or not, the states can address both issues themselves with one reform: repealing collective bargaining for public workers. That alone would increase public worker accountability and ease budget pressures by reducing labor costs.

State and local workforces are heavily unionized, with 39% of workers covered by collective bargaining agreements, compared to just 7% in the private sector. Critically, large majorities of public school teachers and police in big-city departments are covered by collective bargaining.