Fact Sheet * By Valerie Wilson and Julia Wolfe * May 15, 2018
The phrase “right-to-work” (RTW) refers to laws that prohibit unions from collecting any fees from nonunion members in a bargaining unit despite the fact that these nonmembers are covered by-and thus would still receive the benefits of-the union contract. These benefits include the right to have the union provide costly legal representation should a worker in the bargaining unit find it necessary to file a grievance against his or her employer. Contrary to how the phrase sounds, RTW laws actually restrict the rights of workers by cutting the financial support going to unions, thus limiting the ability of unions to help workers bargain for better wages, benefits, and working conditions.
Currently, 28 states, predominantly in the Midwest, South, and Southwest, have right-to-work laws in place. Later this year, voters in Missouri will decide whether to adopt a new RTW law approved by the state’s general assembly last year.
This fact sheet illustrates the disproportionate impact that a Missouri RTW law could have on African American workers, by highlighting the group’s strong representation among unionized workers in Missouri. This analysis is based on union membership data available from the Current Population Survey (conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau for the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics) for 2010-2017, the period since the end of the Great Recession
In national studies that control for other factors than can influence wages statewide, including the cost of living, wages are still at least 3 percent lower in RTW states than in non-RTW states. While Missouri workers of every race will likely see the negative impacts of an RTW law, black Missourians would be disproportionately harmed by this right-to-work law. That is because black workers are more likely to be covered by a union contract (“unionized”) than other workers. As shown in Figure A, in Missouri, 13.9 percent of all black workers are unionized, compared with 10.3 percent of all white workers, and 9.3 percent of all Hispanic workers. Within the private sector alone, 10.5 percent of black workers, 8.0 percent of white workers, and 9.0 percent of Hispanic workers are covered by a union contract. Black Missourians’ participation in private-sector unions is slightly higher than participation by black workers in the private sector nationwide (9.4 percent)