Labor Day 2024: Oxfam ranks best and worst states for workers. Where does Mississippi stand? – National & International News – MON 2Sep2024

Labor Day 2024: Oxfam ranks best and worst states for workers based on wages, worker protections and rights to organize. How does Mississippi rank?

Labor Day 2024: Oxfam ranks best and worst states for workers. Where does Mississippi stand?

A new by survey, Oxfam – a group of NGOs focused on poverty, policy research and disaster relief – ranked how workers fare in all 50 states, plus and Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia. The survey ranked states by wage policies, worker protections, and rights to organize. In the overall rankings, D.C. and California took the top two spots while Mississippi and North Carolina took the bottom two (#51 and #52 respectively). 

#46 in wage policies

Like many other states, Mississippi has not passed any laws that would increase minimum wage beyond the federal baseline of $7.25 an hour ($2.13 for tipped workers). Based on cost of living in the state, $7.25 an hour is about 19.2% of what is needed to support a family of four. Unemployment benefits provide just 9.6% of what is needed to support a family of four.

#52 in worker protections

Mississippi is dead last in worker protections. Mississippi provides no paid family or sick leave, no protections for workers who experience sexual harassment, no mandate for equal pay for workers of different races or sexes, and a host of other metrics.

The only class of worker protections in Mississippi mentioned by Oxfam are prohibitions on child labor. Several states have been rolling these protections back in recent years, allowing younger children to work and even allowing them to work hazardous jobs. Despite state and federal prohibitions against children working hazardous jobs, there have been lapses in Mississippi as well.

#42 in rights to organize

Mississippi ranks among the worst in the nation with a score of 10 out of 100 for rights to organize in the workplace. In fact Mississippi is tied with several states with the score of 10, with several states tied for #43 with a score of zero. There is no #44.

The only groups of employees that Mississippi favors with some rights to organize – beyond the mandates of federal law – work in the public sector.

As in many Southern states, Mississippi’s political leadership would say that keeping worker protections and unionization to a minimum creates a “business-friendly” environment. In fact, these policies have brought some manufacturing to the Southern states, most notably auto plants. While these better-paid jobs have been a boon to many Mississippians, the state’s overall wage growth remains among the lowest in the nation, even as the cost of living continues to increase. The good news is that there’s almost nowhere to go but up!

Click here to see Oxfam’s full labor score card for Mississippi (opens in new tab).

Click here to Oxfam’s full rankings and how other states stack up (opens in new tab).