He's all but eliminating collective bargaining. That's what's prompted the protests.

You really come across here as practically a baa-lamb when it comes to the good will of employers. No, state laws do not replace unions, as anyone who has followed the fortunes of workers in non-unionized regions will tell you. South Carolina's laws against collusion, for instance, did not prevent the Chamber of Commerce from violating that law routinely and openly as a way of luring companies into the area. Nor do laws promoting worker safety get enforced when the only strong political forces in an area are businesses with an interest in seeing those laws flouted.