Workers who live in states with anti-union laws – the so-called “right-to-work” states – earn on average 6.7% less than those who live in states favorable to collective bargaining, a new report shows.  

That translates to about $4,000 a year less for those living in states that have adopted misleadingly named right-to-work laws – which are all about weakening unions. 

What’s more, that wage gap has shockingly doubled in the last 10 years. 

The “wage penalty” – when people without access to unions make less money than their unionized peers – has gotten significantly worse since 2016. Back then, the wage penalty was 3.2%.

Women, Black and Latino workers are hit even worse, with wage penalties of 7.3%, 9.7% and 10%, respectively. 

This is just the latest example of how unions make life better for working families. Paychecks are generally lower in 26 states with right-to-work laws that suppress worker power and deny workers and unions a fair shot.

“Not only do RTW states have lower unionization rates, leaving workers with less leverage to bid up wages, but they often maintain other anti-worker policies. Combined, these anti-worker policies tilt bargaining power toward employers, weakening workers’ ability to garner higher wages,” according to the Economic Policy Institute’s report. 

Although the report focuses on right-to-work laws that affect private sector employees, the right-to-work concept applies to public sector workers throughout the U.S. because of the 2018 Supreme Court decision in Janus v. AFSCME. In that case, a divided court ruled that workers covered by collective bargaining agreements no longer have to pay their fair share of the cost of union representation. 

What can we do about it?

Elected officials at every level of government have the power to repeal right-to-work laws and other anti-worker policies.  

AFSCME members are building power through the Get Organized initiative around the country. They are also aggressively using their union voices – and votes – to fight for worker-friendly changes. With every organizing effort, that power to influence local, state and federal labor policy only grows. 

AFSCME members can turn the electoral process into worker progress. Michigan, for example, repealed its right-to-work law in 2024. AFSCME members are committed to turning out in large numbers in the midterm elections this November to elect more pro-worker lawmakers to every level of the government.  

At the federal level, the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, strongly endorsed by AFSCME, would protect workers’ rights to join a union and hold employers accountable when they violate those rights. 

AFSCME members are also pushing Congress to pass the Public Service Freedom to Negotiate Act. This bill which would set a minimum nationwide standard of collective bargaining rights that states must provide – a right that public service workers are denied in more half of U.S. states.