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Focusing on ten states in the Midwest and Appalachia, the researcher analyzes the effects of right-to-work (RTW) law on labor unions. There are two main chapters to this report. The first examines whether RTW law affects the frequency and type of National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) representation petitions filed and petition outcomes. The second examines Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS) union financial data to estimate the extent that RTW law causes a financial loss to unions, and in turn, whether the passage of RTW law induces a shift in organization strategy, as measured by change in union expenditure patterns. Overall, the researcher concluded that RTW law is not the poison to collective action that unions feared and anti-union interest groups sought. The law will not end the union movement because forces much stronger than rational individualism drive collective behavior by workers. Nonetheless, the results do suggest that RTW law imposes a disparate burden on certain types of unions, and this may affect the character of the union movement.

Citation

Zullo, R. (2019). University of Michigan, School of Social Work. Section 14(b) and the Protective Role of Unions. Chief Evaluation Office, U.S. Department of Labor.

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This study was part of CEO’s Labor Research and Evaluation Grants, and was produced outside of CEO’s standard research development process.