Figure F: States with anti-union laws restricting collective bargaining rights have lower unionization rates

States with statutory restrictions on all workers' collective bargaining rights due to so-called "right-to-work" laws and union density rates

RTW status is determined as of 2025. Union density is defined as the share of workers in the state who are represented by a union, including union members and other workers who are covered by a union contract, based on the variable “union” from EPI extracts of CPS-ORG microdata.
Source: Author's analysis of "Right-to-Work States," National Conference of State Legislatures and Economic Policy Institute, Current Population Survey Extracts, Version 2026.6.10, https://microdata.epi.org.Get the data