what is a right to work law 
a right to work rtw law gives workers the freedom to choose whether or not to join a labor union in the workplace this law also makes it optional for employees in unionized workplaces to pay for union dues or other membership fees required for union representation whether they are in the union or not right to work is also known as workplace freedom or workplace choice while the name of the law implies that it provides freedom to workers critics argue that it weakens unions and empowers corporations instead understanding right to work lawscurrently 27 states have passed right to work laws giving employees the choice of whether or not to join a union right to work laws in these states prohibit contracts that require workers to join a labor union in order to get or keep a job 1states without right to work laws require employees to pay union dues and fees as a term for employment while labor unions are still fully operative in right to work states the law protects these states employees by making payment of union fees an elective decision not bound to the employees employment contracts 2as of early 2024 there is no federal right to work law the law only applies in states that choose to enact it history of right to work lawsin 1935 the national labor relations act nlra or the wagner act was signed into law by president franklin roosevelt the act protected the rights of employees to create a self organized organization and mandated employers to engage in collective bargaining and employment negotiations with these self organized organizations called labor unions employees were also compelled to pay the union for representing and protecting their interests the nlra required union membership as a condition for employment thereby restricting employment to union members only 3in 1947 president harry truman amended parts of the nlra when the taft hartley act was passed during his presidency truman initially vetoed the bill when it arrived on his desk stating that the act would be unfair to the working people of this country understanding that it would serve to weaken union membership and collective bargaining power in the end congress overturned truman s veto 4the taft hartley act effectively created current right to work laws which allow states to prohibit compulsory membership in a union as a condition for employment in the public and private sectors of the country 5in february 2023 congress re introduced the national right to work act it would give employees nationwide a choice to opt out of joining or paying dues to unions 6 the act was also introduced in 2019 and 2017 but stalled 78in march 2021 the united states house of representatives passed the protecting the right to organize act pro act 9 the pro union legislation overrides right to work laws and would make it easier to form unions the pro act faces an uphill battle in the senate as most republicans oppose it the following states have right to work laws alabama arizona arkansas kansas florida georgia idaho indiana iowa kentucky louisiana michigan mississippi nebraska nevada north carolina north dakota oklahoma south carolina south dakota tennessee texas utah virginia west virginia wisconsin and wyoming 2 arguments for and against right to work lawsproponents of right to work laws agree that workers shouldn t be obliged to join a union if they are not interested these supporters believe that states with a right to work law attract more businesses than states without it this is because companies would rather function in an environment where workplace disputes or threats of labor strikes would not interrupt their daily business operations advocates of these laws also agree that right to work states have a higher employment rate after tax income for employees and a lower cost of living than states that have not implemented this law critics maintain that workers in right to work states earn lower wages compared to those in the states that don t have the law opponents also argue that since federal law requires unions to represent all workers regardless of whether they pay union dues free riders are encouraged to benefit from union services at no cost to them this increases the cost of operating and maintaining a union organization in addition critics claim that if businesses are given a choice to do without unions they are likely to lower the safety standards set in place for their employees and by making it harder for unions to operate and represent workers economic inequality will be exacerbated and corporate power over employees will increase significantly 