National Labor Relations Act addresses the right-to-work provision Essay

National Labor Relations Act addresses the right-to-work provision. Discuss the topics listed below - Essay Example forced unionization, section 14(b) of the Taft-Harley Act provides that states may exercise their sovereignty in determining whether they will protect their citizens from forced unionization by enforcing the right-to-work provision. (The Employers Council, 2008). The states that have chosen to utilize the right-to-work provision include Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Tennessee, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Wyoming, Idaho, Utah, Arizona and Nevada. The region of Guam also makes use of the right-to-work provision. (National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, 2008). While Florida and Arkansas were the first states to incorporate this law in 1944 (Answers Corporation, 2008), Oklahoma was the most recent state to make use of it, having agreed upon it in 2001. It should also be noted that employees who work for an airline or railway company, or who work on a federal enclave, are exceptions to those employees typically protected by states with right-to-work laws. (National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, 2008). Because there is nearly a half-and-half split of states in the U.S. that are either right-to-work states of forced u nionization states, it is useful to examine some of the differences between these states. It is interesting to examine characteristics of states utilizing the right-to-work provision as opposed to those states that enforce forced unionization. Four characteristics of right-to-work states are increased real personal income, increased manufacturing establishments, increased number of people covered by private health insurance, and increased real value. These characteristics are ascertained by statistics from such sources as the United States Department of Commerce, the United States Census Bureau, and the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics. In terms of real personal income, from 1993 to 2003 the increase was 37%