What Are the Consequences of Right-to-Work for Union Membership?

Abstract

Beginning in 2012, several states enacted right-to-work laws, which hamper the ability of labor unions to collect agency fees to finance union services and activities. Because the processes by which these adoptions took place are arguably exogenous, identification of the causal effect of right-to-work on unionization within a state becomes possible. The author uses a set of semi-independent cross-sections drawn from the Current Population Survey for years 2000 to 2018 to investigate the impact of right-to-work on the probability of unionization in the five states that adopted it after 2011. The empirical analysis reveals an economically meaningful and statistically significant adverse effect from right-to-work adoption on union density that is distinct from other factors influencing unionization during that time period.