Bill would eliminate state right-to-work laws, mandate union membership nationwide
H.R. 5159 — Nationwide Right to Unionize Act · Filed by Brad Sherman (D-CA) · 17 cosponsors · Introduced Sep 4, 2025 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill repeals the federal provision that allows states to pass 'right-to-work' laws—statutes that let workers opt out of union membership even when a union represents their workplace. Repealing this provision would eliminate states' authority to enact such laws, effectively nationalizing union-security agreements and requiring workers in unionized workplaces to join or pay union dues as a condition of employment.
Why we flagged it
The bill's operative mechanism is a straightforward repeal of a federal statute that delegates authority to states. It is a preemption measure—removing state discretion and imposing a uniform national rule on union-security agreements. The title accurately describes the functional effect.
What the text implies
- Repealing 14(b) would reverse 70+ years of state-level right-to-work policy in 27 states; workers in those states would face a sudden shift from opt-in to mandatory union membership or dues payment.
- The bill does not address transition mechanisms, grandfather clauses, or existing non-union workers in right-to-work states—implementation could create significant labor-relations friction.
- Union density and bargaining power would likely increase in currently right-to-work states, potentially raising labor costs for employers and affecting wage/benefit structures across affected sectors.
- The bill does not specify whether existing right-to-work statutes remain on the books (unenforceable) or are formally repealed—a technical gap that could create litigation over state law's status.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
Workers in unionized sectors gain stronger collective-bargaining power and union representation (a concrete benefit), but workers who object to union membership or politics lose the legal right to opt out and work without paying dues (a concrete cost). The balance depends on whether one values union strength and worker solidarity more than individual choice to avoid union affiliation.
Who stands to gain
- labor unions (increased membership and dues revenue)
- unionized workers (stronger bargaining position and union representation)
Named in the bill
National Labor Relations Act, Section 14(b) NLRA, labor unions, states (right-to-work authority removed), workers in unionized workplaces
Where it stands
17 cosponsors: 17 Democrats.
- Sep 4, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Sep 4, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on Education and Workforce · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Money around this bill
1 lobbying clients named this bill on 2 disclosure filings across 2 quarters, Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $410,000 in lobbying spend. A filing names 44 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.
More lobbying clients named this bill than 0% of bills with at least one filing.
Brad Sherman, the sponsor, reported $777,000 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.
- National Right to Work Committee — $410,000 on 2 filings
Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 16, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (192 characters) on Sep 5, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
Money — Senate Lobbying Disclosure Act filings whose specific-issue field names this bill for quarters ending Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. A filing's amount is reported whole beside the median number of bills a filing names; it is never divided across them. PAC receipts are FEC-reported contributions to the sponsor's candidate committee in the 2026 cycle.
As of — lobbying records through Jul 16, 2026 · page rendered 2026-10-20.
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