Since the 1940s, numerous states have protected workers’ freedoms with what are known as right-to-work laws. These laws state that workers can neither be forced to join a union and pay dues — or be prohibited from joining — in order to get or keep their jobs.
Over the years, more and more states have joined the right-to-work ranks by extending these protections to employees. In states without such laws, workers can be forced to pay “agency fees” to unions they don’t belong to and don’t want to join. These agency fees are then used to fund the unions’ activity, including the political machines they have built to wield power in Washington, D.C. and in state capitols across the country.
States without right-to-work often wind up with bigger government, higher taxes, and higher debt, primarily driven by union influence over their policy decisions. They are also less economically vibrant. Right-to-work states have higher real income growth, employment growth, and population growth. According to NERA Economic Consulting, between 2001 and 2016, employment grew by 27 percent in right-to-work states versus just 15 percent in states without these protections. If all states protected worker freedom with a right-to-work law, there would be 249,000 more Americans in the workforce.
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