Right to work (RTW) laws prohibit workers from being required to contribute to a union
MO is not a right to work state, although bills have been filed to allow counties to enact RTW locally
In the past, some cities and counties in KY, IL, NM passed local RTW laws, but it is unclear if they had the legal authority to do so.
Under the National Labor Relations Act, workers have the right to join a union but cannot be required to (Levinson et al. 2017). Unions are obligated to represent all workers in their bargaining unit, including those who are not union members (Baker 2020). Union security clauses are contractual requirements specifying the dues and fees for non-union members (Zullo 2019). Under these arraignments, workers who elect not to join a union are required to pay the portion of union dues that cover representation (Levinson et al. 2017).
Right to work (RTW) laws prohibit union security clauses. This means that unionized workplaces cannot negotiate contracts that require all benefiting employees to contribute to the costs of representation (Legal Information Institute 2020).
Labor relations are largely governed by federal law. This maintains consistent rules across states and gives predictability to multi-state unions and employers (Levinson et al. 2017). An exception to this specifically allows states to pass RTW laws (29 U.S.C. § 164 (b), Soder 2020).
There are currently 26 RTW states (National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation 2024, Figure 1). MO is not a right to work state. In 2018, a RTW law was repealed by a statewide referendum. In recent legislative sessions, bills were introduced that would allow county-based RTW, if approved by the county’s voters (SB 121 2025, SB 781 2024, SB 54 2023).
Some counties and municipalities have initiated their own RTW policies. In the absence of state laws, counties and municipalities in KY, IL, and NM have passed RTW ordinances. These have been the subject of lawsuits challenging if the power of states to enact RTW laws extends to the cities and counties of those states (Soder 2020).
Circuit courts have reached opposite rulings on whether a state’s political subdivisions have the authority to pass RTW (UAW et al. vs. Hardin County KY et al. 2016, International Union of Operating Engineers Local 399, et al. vs. Village of Lincolnshire et al. 2018). In KY, the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the validity of the ordinances, ruling that the power of states to enact RTW extends to their political subdivisions. (UAW et al. vs. Hardin County KY et al. 2016). In IL, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals reached the opposite decision (International Union of Operating Engineers Local 399, et al. vs. Village of Lincolnshire et al. 2018). It argued that creating a patchwork of local regulations would be chaotic and against the intention of federal labor regulation.
After the passage of local RTW, IL, KY, and NM all passed laws creating statewide policies on RTW that superseded local ordinances. In 2017, KY passed a statewide RTW law (KY HB 1 2017). In 2019, IL and NM passed state laws that explicitly prohibited local governments from enacting or enforcing RTW laws (IL SB1474 2019, NM HB 85 2019).
In 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court took up the case IL case to resolve the discrepancy between the 6th and 7th Circuit Court decisions. However, following the change in IL law they dismissed the case as moot, resolving the circuit split without ruling on the substantive issue of whether political subdivisions can pass RTW laws (Soder 2020).
Figure 1. States with Right to Work Laws. Right to work (RTW) laws prohibit agreements where workers are required to contribute financially to unions that represent them in collective bargaining. Currently, no localities have enforceable RTW ordinances. (Data from National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation 2024)
29 U.S. Code § 164 - Construction of provisions. https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/29/164
Baker A (2020) Labor Relations, Professional Perspective – ‘Right to Work’ Laws and Impact on Unionization. Bloomberg Law. https://www.bloomberglaw.com/external/document/X8JDHS0O000000/labor-relations-professional-perspective-right-to-work-laws-and-
SB 1474, 101st General Assembly, 1st Regular Session, IL. 2019 https://www.ilga.gov/Legislation/BillStatus/FullText?GAID=15&DocNum=1474&DocTypeID=SB&LegId=118327&SessionID=108
HB 1, 2017 Regular Session , KY. 2017 https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/recorddocuments/bill/17RS/hb1/bill.pdf
HB 85, 54th New Mexico Legislature, 1st Regular Session, NM. 2019 https://www.nmlegis.gov/Sessions/19%20Regular/final/HB0085.pdf
Legal Information Institute (2020) Right to Work State. Cornell Law School. https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/right_to_work_state
Levinson AR, Hare A, Fiechter T (2017) Federal Preemption of Local Right-to-Work Ordinances. Harvard Journal on Legislation. 54(2) 457-502. https://journals.law.harvard.edu/jol/wp-content/uploads/sites/86/2017/05/HLL204-1.pdf
National right to Work Foundation (2024) Right to Work States. https://www.nrtw.org/right-to-work-states/
SB 54, 102nd General Assembly, 1st Regular Session, MO. 2023. https://www.senate.mo.gov/23info/BTS_Web/Bill.aspx?SessionType=R&BillID=44456
SB 121, 103rd General Assembly, 1st Regular Session, MO 2025. https://www.senate.mo.gov/25info/BTS_Web/Bill.aspx?SessionType=R&BillID=231
SB 781, 102nd General Assembly, 2nd Regular Session, MO. 2024. https://www.senate.mo.gov/24info/bts_web/Bill.aspx?SessionType=R&BillID=212
Soder M (2020) Local Right-to-Work Ordinances: Why § 14(b) of the National Labor Relations Act Preempts Political Subdivisions from Regulating Union-Security Agreements. University of Cincinnati Law Review. https://scholarship.law.uc.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1360&context=uclr
United States Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals (2018) International Union of Operating Engineers Local 399, et al. vs. Village of Lincolnshire, et al. https://cases.justia.com/federal/appellate-courts/ca7/17-1300/17-1300-2018-09-28.pdf?ts=1538150415
United States Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals (2016) UAW et al. vs. Harding County KY et al. (2016). https://www.opn.ca6.uscourts.gov/opinions.pdf/16a0275p-06.pdf
Zullo R (2019) Section 14(b) and the Protective Role of Unions. Chief Evaluation Office, Department of Labor. https://www.dol.gov/resource-library/section-14b-and-protective-role-unions-paper
