Twenty-six states are right to work states, meaning employers and unions in those states cannot make paying union dues or fees a condition of keeping your job. The list covers private-sector workers and has shifted over time as legislatures pass or repeal these laws. Michigan is the most recent change, dropping off the list when its repeal took effect on February 12, 2024.
The 26 Right-to-Work States
- Alabama
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- Florida
- Georgia
- Idaho
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Mississippi
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Oklahoma
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Virginia
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
Guam also has a right-to-work law in effect.1National Conference of State Legislatures. Right-to-Work Resources The states are concentrated in the South, Midwest, and Mountain West.
Recent Changes to the List
Michigan repealed its right-to-work law when Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed the repeal in March 2023, and the repeal took effect on February 12, 2024. Michigan workers covered by union contracts can once again be required to pay union dues or fees as a condition of employment.1National Conference of State Legislatures. Right-to-Work Resources It was the first state repeal in decades.
Missouri is sometimes mistakenly included. The legislature passed a right-to-work law in 2017, but voters rejected it through Proposition A in August 2018 before it took effect, so Missouri is not on the list.2Missouri Revisor of Statutes. RSMo Section 290.590 Kentucky’s 2017 law and West Virginia’s 2016 law both survived state supreme court challenges and remain in force.
What a Right-to-Work Law Actually Does
These laws target one specific kind of contract clause: a union security clause. Outside right-to-work states, an employer and a union can agree that every worker in the bargaining unit must either join the union or pay fees to it within 30 days of hire.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 29 U.S. Code 158 – Unfair Labor Practices If you refuse, your employer can fire you to comply with the contract.
In a right-to-work state, that arrangement is illegal. Your employer and any union cannot make your job depend on paying dues, fees, or any other financial contribution to a labor organization. Support for the union is voluntary.
The authority for state laws comes from the Taft-Hartley Act of 1947. Section 14(b), codified at 29 U.S.C. § 164(b), says nothing in federal labor law authorizes union security agreements in any state where they are prohibited by state law.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 29 U.S. Code 164 – Construction of Provisions Federal law allows these clauses by default and lets each state ban them.
One thing right-to-work does not change: a union that serves as your exclusive bargaining representative still has to represent everyone in the unit fairly, whether or not you pay. That duty covers wage negotiations, grievance handling, and hiring hall referrals. The union cannot refuse to process your grievance because you aren’t a member.5National Labor Relations Board. Right to Fair Representation
Right to Work Is Not the Same as At-Will Employment
People mix these up constantly. Right-to-work laws affect only whether you can be required to pay a union. They say nothing about whether your employer can fire you without cause.
At-will employment is the default rule in nearly every state, with Montana as the main exception. Under at-will employment, your employer can let you go at any time for any reason that isn’t specifically illegal, such as discrimination based on race, sex, or religion, or retaliation for whistleblowing. Living in a right-to-work state gives you no extra protection against being fired. When someone says “they can fire me because this is a right-to-work state,” they are describing at-will employment.
If You Work in One of the Other 24 States
In states without a right-to-work law, you can be required to pay fees to a union to keep your job. You still have two important protections.
You Can Object to Paying for Non-Bargaining Activities
Under the Supreme Court’s 1988 decision in Communications Workers of America v. Beck, a union cannot force an objecting worker to pay for anything unrelated to collective bargaining. If you object, the union may only charge you for bargaining, contract administration, and grievance handling. It cannot use your money for political campaigns, lobbying, organizing at other companies, or charity over your objection.6LII / Legal Information Institute. Communications Workers of America v. Beck You typically need to submit a written objection to the union to trigger these rights.
Religious Objections
If a sincere religious belief prevents you from financially supporting a union, federal law requires the employer and union to accommodate you. The usual accommodation is redirecting an amount equal to your dues or fees to a charity all parties agree on.7U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Questions and Answers: Religious Discrimination in the Workplace If your objection is specifically to the union’s political or social causes rather than the union itself, an accommodation may reduce your payment or redirect the portion tied to those causes.
Public Employees Are Protected in Every State
If you work for a state or local government in any capacity, whether as a teacher, police officer, firefighter, or any other public role, you have right-to-work protection no matter where you live. In Janus v. AFSCME (2018), the Supreme Court held that requiring public-sector employees to pay union agency fees violates the First Amendment.8Supreme Court of the United States. Janus v. State, County, and Municipal Employees, Council 31, et al. No state, local government, or public-sector union can condition your job on paying dues or fees.
The Court also ruled that nothing may be deducted from your paycheck for a union unless you affirmatively consent, with that consent shown by “clear and compelling evidence.”9Justia U.S. Supreme Court Center. Janus v. AFSCME Failing to opt out is not consent. Some unions and states have set up narrow annual windows for revoking authorizations, and federal appeals courts have split on whether those windows comply with Janus. If a window restriction is blocking you from stopping deductions, talk to an attorney familiar with your circuit.
Federal Employees
For federal government workers, union membership and dues are voluntary by statute. Under 5 U.S.C. § 7102, every federal employee has the right to join, assist, or refrain from joining a union “freely and without fear of penalty or reprisal.”10Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 5 U.S. Code 7102 – Employees Rights Federal law does not permit union security clauses in federal employment. Payroll deductions for union dues require your voluntary written authorization, which you can revoke.11Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 5 USC 7115 – Allotments to Representatives
Two Situations Where State Right-to-Work Doesn’t Reach You
Even in a right-to-work state, two carve-outs can leave you outside the state law’s protection.
Airlines and Railroads
If you work for an airline or railroad, your labor relations fall under the Railway Labor Act, not state law. That statute, at 45 U.S.C. § 152, Eleventh, specifically allows carriers and unions to negotiate agreements requiring all employees to become union members within 60 days of hire.12GovInfo. U.S.C. Title 45 – Railroads, Chapter 8 – Railway Labor The provision expressly overrides other federal and state laws, so your state’s right-to-work statute has no effect. You are not required to become a formal member, though; the requirement is satisfied by paying the periodic dues and fees the union uniformly charges.13Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 45 USC 151 – Definitions; Short Title
Federal Enclaves
Workers on certain federal properties, including military installations, national parks, and some federal buildings, may not be covered by state right-to-work laws. When the federal government has exclusive jurisdiction over a parcel of land, state laws in force at the time of the transfer stay in effect, but state laws passed later generally do not apply. If your state adopted its right-to-work law after the federal government took the property where you work, that law may not reach you there. Whether a specific workplace qualifies as a federal enclave with exclusive jurisdiction depends on the terms of the land transfer, and the answer can differ between two federal facilities in the same state.