Nationwide Right to Unionize Act reintroduced

On September 8, 2022, federal Congressional legislators from Massachusetts and California reintroduced the Nationwide Right to Unionize Act, which takes aim at state “right to work” laws and attempts to increase employees’ right to unionize. Section 14(b) of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) prohibits compulsory union membership and payment of union dues and fees as a condition of employment.

Background

In 1935, the NLRA allowed unions and employers to enter into agreements in which an employer agreed to hire only union members and make the payment of union dues mandatory. More than a decade later, Congress passed the Taft-Hartley Act, which established Section 14(b) of the NLRA, granting the authority to ban unions and prohibit employers from requiring union membership and the payment of union dues and fees as a condition of employment.

State right-to-work laws grant employees the right to decide whether to join a union or pay union dues. Labor unions may still operate in right-to-work states, but employees can’t be compelled to become members or pay dues against their will as a condition of their employment.

Twenty-seven states, including Oklahoma, have enacted such right-to-work laws. The proposed repeal of Section 14(b) would effectively ban state right-to-work laws and permit “closed shops” (agreements in which employers only hire union members) once again. Obviously, most labor unions in the United States are pushing this legislation because the number of dues-paying union members has dramatically declined over the years.