: opposing or banning the closed shop and the union shop

Examples of right-to-work in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
In their most recent fundraising email, Indiana House Democrats evoked their 2011 walkout over right-to-work legislation opposed by labor unions. Indianapolis Star, IndyStar, 7 Aug. 2025 Think parsing compliance documents and flagging issues in seconds, automating right-to-work checks across government sites and encoding standard operating procedures (SOPs) into machine-readable rules. Vardhan Kapoor, Forbes.com, 17 July 2025 Her rhetoric in the current campaign indicates little promise of causing serious offense to corporate interests, which will be reassured by her pledge to refuse to sign any bill repealing the state’s anti-union right-to-work law. Andrew Cockburn, Harpers Magazine, 16 July 2025 The Southern states lured manufacturing investments with right-to-work laws, cheap energy, affordable housing, low-cost land and fast permitting. David Brooks, Mercury News, 31 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for right-to-work

Word History

First Known Use

1949, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of right-to-work was in 1949

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Cite this Entry

“Right-to-work.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/right-to-work. Accessed 28 Aug. 2025.

Legal Definition

right-to-work

adjective
: of, relating to, or being a law prohibiting labor agreements that require all employees to be union members
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