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Is there data showing that right-to-work laws weaken unions?

Friday, January 8, 2021
By Austin Tannenbaum
YES

Right-to-work laws allow employees of a unionized workplace to withhold dues from their union. An analysis by Bloomberg Law found that in four key metrics, unions in right-to-work states underperformed relative to unions in non-right-to-work states in 2018:

  • Union density: the percentage of unionized workforces in right-to-work states (6.5%) was less than half that of non-right-to-work states (13.9%).
  • Organizing activity: right-to-work states held 319 union elections with a 67.1% win rate while non-right-to-work states held 835 elections with a 71.9% win rate.
  • Strikes: right-to-work states held less than one-third the amount of strikes (38) held in non-right-to-work states (131).
  • Wages: union members in right-to-work states earned less per hour ($25.78) than union members in non-right-to-work states ($28.26).
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