“Right to Work” Was Never About Workers
How ALEC, Koch Money, and Corporate America Hijacked Labor Rights—and Called It Freedom
When you hear “Right to Work,” you might think it means the right to a job. But that’s not what it means—not even close.
“Right to Work” laws were never about protecting workers. They were about protecting corporations from workers.
Here’s the truth they don’t want you to know:
What “Right to Work” Actually Means
These laws strip away:
Union protections
Collective bargaining power
Overtime and safety guarantees
Fair grievance processes
The ability to organize without retaliation
They allow workers to benefit from union contracts without paying dues—starving unions of resources until they collapse. It’s a strategy designed to weaken labor from the inside out.
Who’s Behind It?
These laws didn’t spread by accident. They were pushed by:
ALEC (the American Legislative Exchange Council), a corporate-funded group that writes pro-business laws for GOP lawmakers to pass
The Koch brothers and their political network, who have bankrolled “Right to Work” laws for decades to dismantle collective power and maximize profit
📎 Economic Policy Institute – Right to Work Laws Explained
📎 The Guardian – ALEC & Koch Brothers
The Real Impact
In “Right to Work” states, workers face:
Lower wages
Higher injury rates
Weaker health and retirement benefits
Little to no legal protection if fired
Less bargaining power at every level
And that’s exactly what was intended.
The Strategy: Sound Nice, Strip Rights
It’s propaganda with a pretty name.
Because who could be against the “right to work”?
But beneath that slogan is a brutal truth:
They mean the right to work without representation, without safety, and without a voice.
The Resistance
If we want to protect working people:
Call out ALEC’s influence at the state level
Fund and defend unions
Demand national labor protections that can’t be erased state by state
Refuse to let billionaires define what “freedom” means for the rest of us
“Right to Work” is a corporate project.
Your silence is their business plan.