Wisconsin was the 25th state to pass a right-to-work law in the United States when Gov. Scott Walker signed it into law on March 9, 2015.
The National Right-to-Work Committee, an advocacy organization for such laws, predicted a number of other states will consider similar laws this year, including Delaware, Maine, Missouri, and Montana. The passage of right-to-work laws has led some state legislatures to quickly move to repeal or limit state prevailing wage laws and/or limit the use of project labor agreements on municipal, county or state projects.
Opponents of right-to-work laws may take some comfort that right-to-work efforts were recently dropped in New Hampshire and West Virginia. An effort to fast track a bill in New Mexico failed. Also, a law passed through an executive order by Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner is believed won’t hold up under legal scrutiny.
If your state has recently passed right-to-work laws or it is currently under consideration, you may be wondering how the law impacts certain provisions in your collective bargaining agreement, the union’s relationship to your employees, and your fringe benefit payments among other things.
SMACNA has provided answers to the most frequently asked questions on its labor relations page on the SMACNA website.