One of the key ways to improve urban life is to improve the level of public services offered in cities. People who flee some premier city for the suburbs or rural life will typically point to their desire to find better schools, safer streets and less congestion. In big cities, public employee unions are typically the most powerful political forces – and they strenuously resist efforts to reform local governments or outsource public services. They are the main obstacle to urban reform.

Philip K. Howard is an author, lawyer and chairman of Common Good, a nonpartisan organization that attempts to simplify and improve government. His latest book, Not Accountable: Rethinking the Constitutionality of Public Employee Unions (Rodin Books, 2023), attempts to rethink the constitutionality of public-employee unions. Free Cities Center Director Steven Greenhut interviews Howard about the book, which was released this week.

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