So-called “right to work” (RTW) is a legislative tactic used by corporations to severely weaken or eliminate unions by making it legal for workers who are protected by a union contract to opt out of paying membership dues.
Why is RTW such a big deal?
Membership dues help pay for the expenses the union incurs while bargaining and enforcing contracts. When workers opt out, but the union still has to represent them, it limits the union’s resources therefore weakening its ability to not only bargain good contracts, but implement safety and health programs in workplaces, lobby against legislation that threatens our work and more.
These laws are anti-union and anti-worker because they drive down everyone’s wages, benefits, and overall living standards.
States with RTW Laws Have Lower Wages and Incomes
- On average, workers in states with RTW laws make $6,109 a year (12.1%) less annually than workers in other states ($44,401, compared with $50,511).
- Median household income in states with these laws is $8,174 (13.9%) less than in other states ($50,712 vs. $58,886).
- 29.6 percent of jobs in RTW states were in low-wage occupations, compared with 22.8% of jobs in other states.
States with RTW Laws Have Higher Workplace Fatality Rates
- The rate of workplace deaths is 49% higher in states with RTW laws, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
States with RTW Laws Have Lower Rates of Health Insurance Coverage
- People under the age of 65 in states with RTW laws are more likely to be uninsured (13.0%, compared with 9.4% in free-bargaining states).
- Only 47% of private-sector employers in states with these laws offer insurance coverage to their employees, compared with 52.2% in other states. That difference is even more pronounced among employers with fewer than 50 workers: only 30.1% offer health insurance compared with 38.1% of small employers in other states.
- Workers in RTW states also pay a larger share of their health insurance premiums, on average, than those in free-bargaining states (28.5% of the premium compared with 25.4% in free-bargaining states).
With millions of Americans unemployeed and underemployeed, RTW is an ill-timed distraction from the issues that really matter to working families like raising wages, affordable and accessible health care, affordable education and secure retirement.