Development Counselors International (DCI) ranked the top five and the bottom five states, in terms of what states provide an economic climate most favorable to business. The rankings show that states following right-to-work laws held the top five spots, while states following more union-friendly rules held the bottom five spots.
DCI asked corporate executives and representatives to name the three states they thought provided the “most favorable business climates,” and the three states least favorable to business. Texas ranked #1 in the final survey results, while California ranked dead last at #50.
DCI provided this commentary on the results:
Here are the top five states, in order: Texas, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Florida.
Here are the bottom five states, starting with with the worst ranked: California, New York, Illinois, New Jersey, Michigan.
According to the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation tally, the top five states all adhere to right-to-work laws that prohibit making membership in a union a condition of employment, while the bottom five all maintain employment standards ouside the right-to-work umbrella.
The DCI survey provides a corollary to the CNBC survey that showed, as noted in the Washington Examiner, that “17 of the top 18 states ranked by CNBC in terms of “work force” are “right-to-work” states, where unions are significantly less powerful.”
The National Labor Relations Board seems poised to negate the advantages of right-to-work states given their lawsuit to require Boeing Co to move a factory from South Carolina to Washington State, which does not have right-to-work laws, but the U.S. House of Representatives has passed legislation specifically preventing the NLRB from pursuing such action. The bill still must pass the Senate to achieve force of law.
