Issue Brief: Strengthening Workers’ Rights and Labor Protections through Interstate Cooperation

This Issue Brief by State Futures and the NYU Wagner Labor Initiative lays out a bold, practical roadmap for how states can join forces to protect workers’ rights in the face of federal retreat on workers’ rights. It offers a playbook for how states can coordinate policy, enforcement and visibility - using tools like interstate compacts and tactics like joint enforcement, resource pooling, and coordinating legislation to amplify impact across borders.

The brief shares existing examples of state cooperation and outlines new proposals such as:

• Regional mediation services to replace the dismantled Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS); 

• Shared databases of labor violators to coordinate debarment and enforcement; 

• Augmented joint enforcement against corporations that violate laws in multiple states; 

• Joint “drop dates” for labor legislation across states to build visibility and momentum; and 

• Interstate Compacts to raise labor standards and align procurement

Issue Brief: State Legislators Respond to Federal Immigration Policy and Enforcement

In response to ongoing changes in federal immigration policy and enforcement, states are taking an active role in shaping how immigration laws are carried out within their borders. As federal agencies implement new strategies that raise concerns about civil rights, local authority, and transparency, state lawmakers are taking steps to clarify and shape the role of state and local governments in immigration enforcement.

This memo outlines four core tools available to state legislators - legislation, oversight and investigatory powers, litigation, and strategic communications - and provides recent examples of each in the ongoing effort to address evolving federal immigration policies. It in intended to serve as a practical reference for deploying state authority in defense of communities, rule of law, and democratic institutions.

Issue Brief: From Federal Gender Justice Attacks To State Action - How State Legislators Can Fight Back

In the face of sweeping federal attacks that threaten civil rights, public programs, and regulatory safeguards, states are a critical line of defense. State legislators have significant authority to counter harmful federal actions and mitigate their impact. Yet identifying where to focus limited time and resources can be challenging amid a barrage of policy attacks.

This memo from National Women’s Law Center and State Futures outlines four core tools available to state legislators - strategic communications, investigatory powers, legislative action, and litigation - and provides recent examples of each in practice, especially in the fight to protect and advance gender justice which has been under acute attack at the federal level. The memo is intended to serve as a practical reference for deploying state authority in defense of communities.