How to Use right-to-work in a Sentence

right-to-work

adjective
  • One of the toughest nuts to crack is the South, where states have right-to-work laws.
    — Patrik Jonsson, The Christian Science Monitor, 8 Aug. 2023
  • In states without right-to-work laws, those dues are mandatory.
    — Kelly Chen, The Conversation, 4 Nov. 2025
  • North Carolina is a right-to-work state without a strong union presence.
    — Charlotte Observer, 10 Dec. 2025
  • In right-to-work states, workers cannot be required to join a union or pay union dues as a condition of employment.
    — Chase Jordan april 2, Charlotte Observer, 2 Apr. 2026
  • Well, except in Florida, which is a right-to-work state, nobody is required to pay dues to the union.
    — Jim Defede, CBS News, 1 Mar. 2026
  • The laws are widely opposed by unions in part because studies have shown that states with right-to-work laws have lower unionization rates.
    — Max Zahn, ABC News, 14 Aug. 2024
  • There are now right-to-work laws in 27 US states, mostly in the South and Midwest.
    — BostonGlobe.com, 15 Mar. 2023
  • In right-to-work states, workers can choose to join a union and pay a membership fee, but joining a union is not a condition of employment.
    — Charlotte Observer, 10 Dec. 2025
  • Indiana, where Honda, Subaru, and Toyota have plants, is a right-to-work state.
    — Jacob Turcotte, The Christian Science Monitor, 23 Apr. 2024
  • This is why business organizations almost always favor right-to-work laws.
    — Timothy Noah, The New Republic, 13 Sep. 2023
  • Fewer workers are needed to manufacture the cars, and battery plants are opening in right-to-work states, rather than union-friendly sites.
    — Bo Erickson, CBS News, 21 Sep. 2023
  • Among other provisions, the act would override state right-to-work laws, racist and anti-union statutes that are common in southeastern and heartland states.
    — Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 4 Dec. 2024
  • Advocates of workers’ rights should watch Michigan, where Democrats are preparing to repeal the state’s right-to-work law.
    — The Editorial Board, WSJ, 9 Mar. 2023
  • The form notifies workers of their rights under Florida’s right-to-work law and the Janus decision.
    — The Editors, National Review, 3 May 2023
  • Michigan recently became the first state in more than half a century to restore power to workers by repealing its anti-union right-to-work law.
    — Raina Lipsitz, The New Republic, 1 May 2023
  • But Democrats passed a state law that would also repeal right-to-work for public sector workers in the event the court reverses its earlier decision.
    — Detroit Free Press, 13 Feb. 2024
  • The act would also essentially end right-to-work laws, which have been enacted in 27 states, and stop unions from requiring employees to pay dues or fees.
    — Zach Halaschak, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 10 Mar. 2025
  • Labor unions pushed for these reversals, arguing that right-to-work laws let private-sector employees free-ride off union contracts without paying fees.
    — Eric Burlison and F. Vincent Vernuccio, WSJ, 12 Dec. 2023
  • Other automakers, many of which concentrate their production in right-to-work states, made it through the recession without government help.
    — The Editors, National Review, 18 Sep. 2023
  • As a result, right-to-work laws weaken unions’ ability to negotiate better working conditions and reduce the share of workers who belong to unions.
    — Kelly Chen, The Conversation, 4 Nov. 2025
  • As a right-to-work state, dockworkers are not required to the ILA members, though the belief is that non-unionized workers would not cross the picket line.
    — Ken Roberts, Forbes, 27 Sep. 2024
  • Under his leadership, Democrats have crafted new gun laws, established a statewide clean energy target and repealed Michigan’s right-to-work law.
    — Staff, Detroit Free Press, 21 Sep. 2024
  • Workers back away from Wells Fargo union Like North Carolina, Florida is a right-to-work state.
    — Chase Jordan april 2, Charlotte Observer, 2 Apr. 2026
  • Illinois is surrounded by states — Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky and Wisconsin — which have right-to-work laws.
    — Charles Selle, Chicago Tribune, 27 Aug. 2025
  • Four years after Act 10 passed, Republicans approved a right-to-work law that limited the power of private-sector unions.
    — Jessica Van Egeren, Journal Sentinel, 2 Dec. 2024
  • Given his state’s history with right-to-work, Hawley’s abandonment of the conservative position on this issue is troubling.
    — Dominic Pino, National Review, 11 Oct. 2023
  • Under Republican control of state government, Michigan passed its right-to-work law in 2012.
    — Lauren Kaori Gurley, Washington Post, 15 Mar. 2023
  • There have been arguments that right-to-work laws diminish the effectiveness of unions by reducing financial resources and lowering unionization rates.
    — Joyce Orlando, The Tennessean, 19 Dec. 2024
  • Some states have a higher prevalence of unionized labor, particularly in large cities and on public works projects, while others may see more non-union electricians hired, especially in right-to-work states.
    — Bob Woods, CNBC, 27 July 2024
  • During the right-to-work fight, organizers collected roughly three times the necessary number of signatures to get the veto referendum on the ballot.
    — Matthew Kelly, Kansas City Star, 10 Sep. 2025

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'right-to-work.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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