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Protections and Benefits for Workers

Unemployment Insurance

Key Takeaways

  • The Arkansas General Assembly has repeatedly reduced Unemployment Insurance benefits since 2011, making workers and our broader economy more vulnerable to economic downturns.  
  • Arkansas allows just 12 weeks of support, which is the lowest among all states. Most states allow for at least 26 weeks.1 

Arkansas’s weak UI system leaves us vulnerable 

Unemployment Insurance (UI) helps workers, and the entire state economy, weather economic losses.2 When widespread job loss hits the economy, workers face hardship because they stop receiving income, and businesses suffer because there are less dollars from paychecks circulating in the economy. UI helps stabilize both sides of this equation. It provides workers with the temporary income while they look for another job, and those UI benefit dollars feed back into businesses in the local economy.  

Unfortunately, Arkansas’s UI system is not as prepared as it could be for a downturn. Jobless workers in Arkansas have an especially short window of time to find a new job or face running out of UI benefits. Arkansas allows just 12 weeks of support, which is the lowest among all states.3 Most states allow for much more time for jobless workers to find their next position; only 12 have fewer than 26 weeks of UI.4 

Legislative action has weakened vital unemployment benefits 

The reason for Arkansas’s relatively weak UI system is obvious: our legislature has repeatedly acted dismantle UI benefits. Less than 15 years ago, Arkansas had 26 weeks of UI benefits like most other states. Since then, the Arkansas General Assemble has gradually stepped down the available weeks of UI benefits by more than half.  

Summary of recent legislation 

  • Act 861 of 2011: Reduced the length of time a worker can withdraw unemployment benefits from 26 weeks to 25 weeks. 
  • Act 412 of 2015: Reduced benefits from 25 weeks to 20 weeks. 
  • Act 734 of 2017: Reduced benefits from 20 weeks to 16 weeks. 
  • Act 196 of 2023: Reduced benefits from 16 weeks to 12 weeks.5 This act went into effect on Jan 1, 2024.6 

All workers in our state pay into the UI system with every paycheck, which allows them to withdraw from that system in the form of UI benefits if they lose their jobs. This structure is comparable to a traditional insurance policy, where you make regular payments to avoid a sudden financial jolt in the future; like a traditional insurance policy, it is not a handout. Workers in our state directly built up the balance of the UI system in Arkansas out of their own paychecks, and they deserve a system that supports them when they lose a job through no fault of their own.    

Fewer jobless workers are receiving benefits 

The UI receipt rate represents the share of jobless workers who are receiving UI benefits. For the UI system to act as an economic stabilizer, it is important that a high share of jobless workers receive UI benefits. Unfortunately, Arkansas UI receipts have been decreasing at a faster rate than the United States (dipping below the U.S. rate for the first time in 2017).  

When Arkansas had a full 26 weeks of unemployment benefits in 2010, the UI receipts rate was 42%. After almost a decade of legislative dismantling of the UI system, the receipts rate in 2019 was down to 23%. We can expect further declines in the share of jobless workers who receive benefits now that the most recent benefits cut are in effect.  

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Union Membership

Key Takeaways 

  • Arkansas’s current rate of union membership is less than half of the national average.  
  • Arkansans are less able to collectively bargain for fair wages and other benefits because of a long history of anti-union legislation in our state.  
  • Our state legislature has struck down important protections against child labor abuse in recent years despite alarming reports of child labor violations in Arkansas. 

Eroding union membership leads to inequality 

Union membership has fallen in Arkansas and across the nation since the 1950s. This has lowered workers’ ability to bargain for fair wages and has corresponded with steady increases in inequality. The share of income going to the top 10% has increased substantially in the past half century, from around 30% to nearly 50%. During this time, union membership declined from about 25% to 10% nationally.  

Arkansas union membership fell by about half from 1989 to 2021. Our state’s current rate of union membership is 4.9%, which is substantially lower than the national average of 10.1%. Many surrounding states have comparably low union membership rates, with the exception of Missouri, which has a rate of 9.5%. It is worth noting that Missourians have repeatedly defeated efforts to enact anti-union “Right to Work” legislation in their state.7  

Union membership in the private sector makes up 72% of all union memberships in Arkansas. However, membership rates are much higher in the public sector compared to the private sector (8.1% compared to 4.2%).  

Arkansas policies are contributing to union decline 

A history of policy actions is making it more difficult for Arkansans to participate in organized labor groups. Most recently, Arkansas legislators have taken away basic conveniences that help public employees participate in unions. Teachers can no longer pay union dues directly from their paycheck because of Act 776 of 2023.8  

Some legislative actions have had a much more severe impact on collective bargaining rights. The Arkansas Legislature has now barred public employers from recognizing or entering into agreements with any union or public employee association (Act 612 of 2021).9 Several years earlier, the State Board of Education used new requirements for school districts per Act 728 of 201910 to stifle recognition of the Little Rock Education Association, a prominent teachers Union in Arkansas.11   

Recent anti-union sentiment at the Arkansas legislature builds on a history of efforts in our state to dismantle collective organization. Arkansas was one of the first two states to enact misleadingly titled “Right to Work” legislation in 1944.12 By federal law, unions cannot force workers to join a union. In “Right to Work” states, though, workers can benefit from union related bargaining and protection even if they choose not to become a paying member. The effect is to undercut the incentive to contribute to a union and decrease membership rates. Employees in “Right to Work” states today have less bargaining power and make $1,558 less per year for full-time work.13  

Protections for children are disappearing 

The Youth Hiring Act of 2023 removes important protections against child labor abuses. Workers under 16 no longer must apply for special permits, and the state is no longer required to verify their age before they begin work. Governor Sanders signed this bill in the wake of recent headlines that the Department of Labor penalized two Arkansas companies for illegal and dangerous child labor practices.14

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Health Insurance

Key Takeaways

  • From 2010 to 2019, the rate of Arkansans who lacked health insurance fell from almost one in five to just one in 10. 
  • The rate of children who are uninsured in Arkansas is rising, increasing from a low of 4% in 2016 to almost 6% in 2019. 

Health insurance is an important facet of our labor force. Insured people have better access to care and are more likely to remain healthy and able to work. In 2010, almost one in five Arkansans was uninsured. Almost a decade later in 2019 that rate fell to one in 10. In recent years, uninsured rates have remained relatively low, hitting a minimum of 7.9% in 2016. Since then rates have increased slightly, but have remained at or below the national rate and surrounding states. The percent of children not covered by health insurance has also fallen since 2010 but is creeping up. The child uninsured rate in Arkansas rose from a low of 4% in 2016 to almost 6% in 2019.  

Wages in Arkansas, adjusted for inflation, only increased modestly between 2000 and 2019 (from $16.96 to $19.49 for 50th percentile wages in 2022 dollars). Over the same period, participation in government sponsored health care increased dramatically, with 44% of Arkansans being covered by such a program in 2019. This participation increased further in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, with an additional 230,000 covered by Medicaid. At the end of March 2023, The Arkansas Department of Human Services reported 1,151,347 Medicaid beneficiaries. However, in the next five-month period, April-August 2023, the state’s total Medicaid enrollment dropped by about 248,000 Arkansans.15 During the post-COVID Medicaid “unwinding,” more than 8% of Arkansans find themselves no longer on the state’s Medicaid roll. And for many, participation in the private health insurance market is out of reach. 

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Footnotes

  1. Source: Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, “Policy Basics: How Many Weeks of Unemployment Compensation Are Available?”, https://www.cbpp.org/research/economy/how-many-weeks-of-unemployment-compensation-are-available ↩︎
  2. Source: Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, “Failed Reopenings Highlight Urgent Need to Build on Federal Fiscal Support,” https://www.cbpp.org/research/federal-budget/failed-reopenings-highlight-urgent-need-to-build-on-federal-fiscal-support  ↩︎
  3. Source: Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, “Policy Basics: How Many Weeks of Unemployment Compensation Are Available?”, https://www.cbpp.org/research/economy/how-many-weeks-of-unemployment-compensation-are-available ↩︎
  4. Source: Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, “Policy Basics: How Many Weeks of Unemployment Compensation Are Available?”, https://www.cbpp.org/research/economy/how-many-weeks-of-unemployment-compensation-are-available ↩︎
  5. Source: Arkansas State Legislature, Act 196 of the 2023 Regular Session, https://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/Home/FTPDocument?path=%2FACTS%2F2023R%2FPublic%2FACT196.pdf ↩︎
  6. Source: Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce, “Legislative Summary 2023,” https://www.arkansasstatechamber.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/LegislativeSummary2023.pdf ↩︎
  7. Source: Economic Policy Institute, “Right to Work Is Wrong for Missouri: A Breadth of National Evidence Shows Why Missouri Voters Should Reject RTW Law,” https://www.epi.org/publication/right-to-work-is-wrong-for-missouri-a-breadth-of-national-evidence-shows-why-missouri-voters-should-reject-rtw-law/ ↩︎
  8. Source: Arkansas State Legislature, Senate Bill 473 – 2023 Regular Session, https://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/Bills/Detail?id=SB473&ddBienniumSession=2023%2F2023R ↩︎
  9. Source: Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families, ” How Arkansas Educators Lost Their Collective Bargaining Rights,” https://www.aradvocates.org/wp-content/uploads/Act-612-Analysis-brief.pdf ↩︎
  10. Source: Arkansas State Legislature, Act 728 of the 2019 Regular Session, https://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/Home/FTPDocument?path=%2FACTS%2F2019R%2FPublic%2FACT728.pdf ↩︎
  11. Source: Arkansas Times, “The Second Little Rock Crisis,” https://arktimes.com/news/cover-stories/2019/10/28/the-second-little-rock-crisis ↩︎
  12. Source: Encyclopedia of Arkansas, “Right-to-Work Law,” https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/right-to-work-law-7621/ ↩︎
  13. Source: Economic Policy Institute, “Right-to-Work States Have Lower Wages,” https://www.epi.org/publication/right-to-work-states-have-lower-wages/ ↩︎
  14. Source: U.S. Department of Labor, “News Release: MORE THAN 100 CHILDREN ILLEGALLY EMPLOYED IN HAZARDOUS JOBS,” https://www.dol.gov/newsroom/releases/whd/whd20230217-1 ↩︎
  15. Source: Arkansas Democrat Gazette, “More than 72,000 Arkansans lose Medicaid coverage in August,” September 9, 2023, https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2023/sep/08/more-than-72000-arkansans-lose-medicaid-coverage-in-august/ ↩︎