right-to-work

American

[rahyt-tuh-wurk] / ˈraɪt təˈwɜrk /

adjective

being or relating to legislation that prohibits employers from forcing employees to join a union or pay dues to a union if they are not a member of that union.

The organization spearheaded right-to-work campaigns and worked to pass anti-strike laws in four states.
Organized labor activists made demands to repeal right-to-work laws.

Etymology

Origin of right-to-work

First recorded in 1890–95, for an earlier sense; 1920–25, for the current sense

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

One issue on which she is so far holding the line is on repealing the state’s right-to-work law that lets workers choose whether or not to join a union.

From The Wall Street Journal

But another government U-turn, this time on digital ID for right-to-work checks, has left them privately wondering if they should bother in future.

From BBC

Even in right-to-work states, workers who opt out of union membership are still bound by the union contract and barred from negotiating on their own behalf.

From The Wall Street Journal

This will allow more accurate right-to-work checks by employers and make it harder for illegal workers to use fraudulent documents, the government argues.

From BBC

Madeleine Sumption from Oxford University's Migration Observatory think tank said: "I'm a bit sceptical of the narrative you often hear from French politicians about the UK being a soft touch on right-to-work issues because we have broadly the same set of policies as they do and some of the same challenges on unauthorised workers."

From BBC

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023