The primary federal legislation that regulates private sector collective bargaining is the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), enacted in 1935. In addition to establishing workers' rights to organize and establishing union election procedures, the NLRA also permits collective bargaining contracts between employers and labor organizations that require all workers covered by the contract to pay dues to the negotiating organization. These contract provisions are known as union security agreements . Since the NLRA was amended by the Taft-Hartley Act in 1947, individual states have had the option of enacting laws that prohibit union security agreements. These state laws supersede the union security provisions of the NLRA and are known as right to work (RTW) laws. As of this writing, 24 states have enacted RTW laws. Supporters of expanding RTW laws claim that they will increase personal freedom and employer flexibility. These provisions stated that individual states may pass laws prohibiting union security agreements in labor contracts and that these state laws would supersede the NLRA provisions authorizing union security agreements. Most national RTW proposals are relatively narrow in scope and only prohibit union security agreements. They typically do not address union election procedures or any other issues associated with collective bargaining. These National Right to Work proposals often have a substantial number of cosponsors. These proposals typically forbid state RTW laws by striking the provisions of the NLRA that permit such laws. State Activities

As noted previously, Indiana and Michigan each enacted an RTW law in 2012. Empirical Evidence Relating to RTW

There has been a great deal of debate and research on the economic effects of RTW laws on states that adopt them. It is possible to compare data from states with RTW laws to states without such laws, but since it is not possible to observe the counterfactual—what would have happened in each state if it had a differing union security policy—there is no simple way to tell what contribution an RTW law (or lack thereof) made to other outcomes in the state. For example, a researcher could compare employment growth in Arizona (an RTW state) and neighboring New Mexico (a union security state), but it would be impossible to identify what portion of the differences between the states was attributable to their respective union security laws and what portions were attributable to differences in labor force characteristics, industry makeup, local taxation policies, and countless other state-specific characteristics. Right to Work and Economic Outcomes

Given the complexity of establishing the relationship between RTW and lower-order outcomes like unionization rates, it comes as little surprise that the literature related to the laws' effects on higher-order outcomes such as employment and wages is inconclusive. Under this view, RTW laws are a relatively insignificant factor in the location of a business. Opponents of RTW laws, however, argue that aggregate data are misleading and mask substantial variation among both RTW and union security states. Conversely, studies that considered other outcomes suggested benefits to RTW laws. As such, the ongoing debate on RTW may be driven by factors other than rigorous empirical evidence related to economic outcomes.
The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) establishes most private-sector workers' rights to unionize and collectively bargain over wages, benefits, and working conditions. Enacted in 1935, the NLRA also permits collective bargaining contracts between employers and labor organizations that require every individual covered by the collective bargaining contract to pay dues to the negotiating labor organization. These contract provisions are known as union security agreements. Since the NLRA was amended by the Taft-Hartley Act in 1947, individual states have been permitted to supersede the union security provisions of the NLRA by enacting laws that prohibit union security agreements. These state laws are known as right to work (RTW) laws.
Currently, 24 states have RTW laws. Of these, 12 states passed RTW laws prior to 1950 and another six passed them prior to 1960. The two most recent states to adopt RTW laws are Indiana and Michigan, both of which enacted legislation in 2012. Several other state legislatures are debating RTW laws.
Recent legislative proposals, with substantial numbers of cosponsors, would expand RTW policies nationwide. Advocates of national RTW laws claim that they would enhance personal freedom and employer flexibility. Opponents argue that such laws would weaken workers' abilities to collectively bargain for more favorable compensation and working conditions. Proposals aiming to expand RTW policies typically strike the provisions of the NLRA that permit union security agreements.
National RTW proposals are often discussed in the context of the economic performance of states that have adopted them. However, research that compares outcomes in RTW and union security states is inconclusive. The recent data trends between RTW and union security states are relatively distinct, but, since it is difficult to determine the effect of a single variable on broader economic outcomes, the influence of RTW laws in these trends (if any) is unclear.
Unionization rates in RTW states are less than half of what they are in union security states. It is ambiguous what portion of this difference is attributable to RTW laws, what portion is due to diverse preferences among states' populations regarding unionization, and what portion is due to other factors. In the past decade, aggregate employment in RTW states has increased modestly while employment in union security states has declined. It is unclear if this growth is attributable to RTW, other pro-business policies (which tend to be concentrated in RTW states), or other factors. Wages are lower in RTW states than union security states. Historical research has suggested that RTW laws have little influence on these differences. More contemporary scholarship has come to diverse conclusions, depending on the researchers' methodology.
Difficulties associated with rigorously studying the relationships between RTW laws and various outcomes are likely to continue to make it difficult to generate definitive findings about these relationships. As such, the ongoing debate on RTW may be driven by factors other than rigorous empirical evidence related to economic outcomes.