Right to Work States

There are 22 right to work states in the U.S. In these parts of the country, trade unions are specifically barred from entering into agreement with employers so that new hires must join the union or pay union dues as a condition of employment.

Would you join a union to get a job?

Before the Taft-Hartley Act became law in 1947, unions and employers could decide that a particular workplace could operate as a "closed shop." This meant that anyone who wanted to work for that employer was required to join the union upon being hired. In addition, a person who was previously a union member who was expelled from the membership for any reason could be fired from their job, even if the employer had no just cause for doing so.

While the idea of a closed shop was illegal under this law, employers and unions could agree to adopt a union shop rule instead. This meant a person could start working for an employer without being required to join the union immediately. After a certain length of service, though, the person could be required to join the union.

In a union shop place of employment, the employer is obligated to fire any employee who does not pay union dues to remain in good standing with the union. The union cannot insist that an employee be fired if he or she has been expelled from the union for any other reason, though.

If you work in an agency shop workplace, you are required to pay union dues, but will not be made to join the union.

Under the open shop rule, an employee cannot be made to join a union as a condition of employment or be made to pay dues to the union. Employees cannot be fired from their job because they have decided to join a union. This means that a person has the right to work, no matter what decision they make about whether to join a union.

The following states have passed right to work legislation:

• Alabama
• Arizona
• Arkansas
• Florida
• Georgia
• Idaho
• Iowa
• Kansas
• Louisiana
• Mississippi
• Nebraska
• Nevada
• North Carolina
• North Dakota
• Oklahoma
• South Carolina
• South Dakota
• Tennessee
• Texas
• Utah
• Virginia
• Wyoming

• Having right to work states speaks to an individual's constitutional right to freedom of association. Being made to join a union as a condition of employment means the individual is not making his or her choice freely.

• Right to work states tend to have lower unemployment rates than states that have not adopted this legislation.

• Right to work states have higher economic growth due to increased job creation.

• If a non-union employee is working for a company where a union is in place, he or she gets the benefits negotiated under a collective agreement without paying union dues.

• Non-union workplaces mean lower wages for workers.

• Health and safety violations are more common in workplaces where there is no union presence.

There are good reasons for supporting the idea of right to work states and the arguments against right to work are compelling as well. There may be advantages to an employee to join a union and gain the protection that a union can give. Better wages and working conditions are good for employees, but not if employers cannot afford to keep the work place operating due to economic constraints.

Employees also need to consider the fact that unions may be using the money they collect to support certain political causes, and these may not be in line with the employee's personal beliefs.

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