ALEC Adopts Model Right-to-Work Act at Annual Meeting

The American Legislative Exchange Council adopted its model Right-to-Work Act at its 1995 annual meeting, codifying template language that bars unions from negotiating contracts requiring workers to join or pay fees as a condition of employment. The model spread through ALEC's network of state legislators and corporate task force members, who produced roughly 1,000 bills per year with about 200 enacted. The 1995 adoption seeded a wave of state right-to-work statutes adopted over the following two decades, most notably in Indiana (2012), Michigan (2012), Wisconsin (2015), and West Virginia (2016).