Texas and the Right to Work

Texas is one of 22 states that do not allow trade unions to make agreements with their employers requiring employees to pay union dues in order to be employed. These so-called “right to work” states believe that union shops – that is, workplaces in which employees are required to be union members – violate the basic right for employers to hire whom they want and for workers to seek employment wherever they want. Naturally, this law affects the power and prevalence of unions in Texas.

Employers have certain obligations to their workers. Unfortunately, employers sometimes illegally take advantage of their employees. If you have any questions about employment law or which employment practices are unlawful, contact the Austin employment attorneys of The Melton Law Firm, today by calling (512) 330-0017.

Right to Work

The “right to work” statutes were created by the passage of the Taft-Hartley Act of 1947, which illegalized the “closed shop” – workplaces in which workers had to already be due-paying members to be hired. Instead, an employer could agree with a union to have a “union shop,” in which employees would have to join a union within a certain time after beginning employment.

The Act also allowed states to decide if they wanted to outlaw the union shop entirely. Texas is one such state. The belief is that a person has the right to work, regardless of his membership in a union.

Contact Us

If you or someone you love has been the victim of unlawful employment practices, it’s your right to fight back. To learn more, contact the Austin employment lawyers at The Melton Law Firm, by calling (512) 330-0017.