9 of 10 states with the lowest percentage of public employees eligible for collective bargaining

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http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2011/02/27/general-us-broken-budgets-non-union-states-1st-ld-writethru_8328727.html

By EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS and ERIK SCHELZIG , 02.27.11, 12:03 PM EST

Union bargaining just a dream for many gov workers

JACKSON, Miss. -- Whenever Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour has asked lawmakers to weaken benefits for state employees, his proposals have met little resistance from workers.

Mississippi is among those states - many in the South - where most government employees do not have the right to collective bargaining, the benefit that has caused a political upheaval in Wisconsin and has become a national flashpoint for those who argue that public employee benefits are too generous. snip

Across the South, governors like Barbour and state legislatures dominated by conservative lawmakers find it relatively easy to chip away at public employees' benefits or eliminate government jobs because most state employees in the region - even when represented by a union - lack collective bargaining rights.

Nine of the 10 states with the lowest percentage of public employees eligible for collective bargaining are in the South, according to data compiled by Barry Hirsch of Georgia State University and David Macpherson of Trinity University in San Antonio. Their research shows only about two in five public employees nationwide have the type of collective bargaining rights that have drawn fire in Wisconsin and other states.