HR 1232119th CongressIn Committee

National Right-to-Work Act

Introduced: Feb 12, 2025

Sponsor: Rep. Wilson, Joe [R-SC-2] (R-South Carolina)

Standard Summary

Comprehensive overview in 1-2 paragraphs

The National Right-to-Work Act, introduced in the 119th Congress, would make union membership and the payment of union dues purely voluntary for employees nationwide. It amends the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) and the Railway Labor Act to eliminate provisions that allow or require workers to join or financially support a labor organization as a condition of employment, and it terminates several “union security” mechanisms that have allowed employment decisions to be tied to union membership or dues. The effect is to establish a broad nationwide right-to-work standard, including for railroads and airlines, by removing requirements for membership or dues and by weakening certain protections currently governing labor organization representation. The bill’s sponsors and co-sponsors are listed in the introduced text, and it was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce. In short, if enacted, the bill would significantly curtail the ability of unions to require membership or dues as a condition of employment and would extend these limits to the railroad industry as well.

Key Points

1Prohibits mandatory union membership and dues as a condition of employment across covered private-sector workplaces (nationwide), removing requirements that employees join or pay dues to a labor organization to keep a job or to be represented.
2Amends NLRA sections 7, 8(a)(3), 8(b), and 8(f) to strike or rewrite language that currently allows or enforces union membership/discrimination based on membership or non-membership, and to roll back “labor organization” security provisions.
3Extends right-to-work protections to the railroad industry by amending the Railway Labor Act to strike the Eleventh paragraph of Section 2 (which relates to union security in that sector).
4Likely reduces unions’ ability to collect dues and to finance organizing and bargaining activities; could alter the leverage unions have in negotiations and representation.
5Comes with a broader policy aim of protecting individual workers’ freedom to choose whether to support or join a union, potentially changing the dynamics of collective bargaining and industry relations.

Impact Areas

Primary group/area affected:- Private-sector employees in workplaces that are or could be represented by unions; current and future union members and non-members alike.- Unions themselves, as organizations that rely on member dues and potentially on certain security arrangements to sustain organizing and bargaining activities.Secondary group/area affected:- Employers in industries with union representation or where unions are active in collective bargaining; could see changes in bargaining dynamics and costs associated with union security provisions.Additional impacts:- Potential effects on the level of union revenue, membership trends, and the scope of compulsory payment arrangements.- Possible shifts in the balance of power during bargaining, dispute resolution, and organizing campaigns.- Legal and enforcement questions as courts interpret how these amendments interact with existing labor law and contracts, and how transitional provisions (if any) would operate upon enactment.National Labor Relations Act (NLRA): The federal law governing labor unions’ rights to organize, bargain, and represent workers in many private-sector workplaces.Section 7: Delineates employees’ rights to form, join, or assist unions and to engage in protected activities in support of those rights.Section 8(a)(3), 8(b), 8(f): Provisions dealing with employer and labor organization conduct, including prohibitions on discrimination related to union membership and on the use of union security agreements.Railway Labor Act (RLA): A federal law governing labor relations in the railroad and air transportation industries.Union security provisions: Provisions in some labor contracts that tie employment or continued employment to membership or financial support of a labor union.Right-to-work: A policy standard where workers cannot be compelled to join or financially support a labor union as a condition of employment.

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