Tipping The Scales: Is Right-To-Work Legislation On The Path to Prosperity?

With West Virginia having just become the twenty-sixth state to pass right-to-work (RTW) legislation, the U.S. labor relations movement is at a tipping point. Other policy makers are closely watching the recent revival of RTW laws that has occurred over the last five years and are analyzing relevant studies to determine whether passing legislation that would outlaw union shops in their states might be worth a second look. With this paper I intend to examine one of the dominant arguments against enacting RTW legislation in a state, which is that this legislation results in a greater degree of state-level income inequality. I will also analyze the effects of RTW legislation on real per capita disposable income levels