Washington is not a right-to-work state. That means employers and unions here can legally agree that workers covered by a union contract must pay union dues or fees to keep their jobs. About half the states have passed right-to-work laws banning those arrangements; Washington has not.
What Right to Work Actually Means
A right-to-work law bans one specific thing: agreements between an employer and a union that require workers to pay union dues or fees as a condition of employment. Nothing more, nothing less.
The framework comes from federal law. The National Labor Relations Act generally lets employers and unions agree that new hires must start paying union dues within 30 days.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 29 USC 158 – Unfair Labor Practices Section 14(b) then hands states an off-switch: a state can pass a law forbidding those agreements, and if it does, the state law wins.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 29 USC 164 – Construction of Provisions Washington has never flipped that switch, so the full menu of union security arrangements is on the table here.
What Private-Sector Workers in Washington Can Be Required to Pay
If you work in a Washington private-sector job covered by a collective bargaining agreement, that agreement can include a union security clause. Two common forms show up.
A union shop clause expects you to become a union member within 30 days of hire. An agency shop clause lets you skip membership but still requires you to pay a fee covering the union’s costs of bargaining, contract administration, and grievance handling.3Washington State Legislature. HB 1760 House Bill Report Either way, some payment is on the table as a condition of the job.
What the union cannot do is broader than the label “union shop” suggests. Under the NLRA, “membership” for these purposes really means paying dues and initiation fees. A union cannot get you fired for skipping meetings, sitting out union elections, or declining to participate in union activities beyond paying what you owe.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 29 USC 158 – Unfair Labor Practices
How to Limit What You Pay if You Don’t Want to Join
Even without a right-to-work law, Washington workers who choose not to join have a meaningful protection. In Communications Workers of America v. Beck, the Supreme Court held that nonmember employees can be charged only for expenses tied to collective bargaining, contract administration, and grievance handling. Political spending, lobbying, and organizing drives at other workplaces are off the bill.4Justia. Communications Workers of America v. Beck
Claiming this reduction takes an active step. You have to notify the union in writing that you object to paying for non-representational activities. The union then has to give you an accounting of chargeable versus non-chargeable expenses, and your payment drops to match. Stay silent and the union can keep collecting the full amount.
Public Employees Have a Different Rule
If you work for a state, county, or municipal employer in Washington, the answer flips. Washington’s public-sector statute historically allowed agency fee arrangements equal to full union dues.5Washington State Legislature. Washington Code 41.80.100 – Union Security Provision The U.S. Supreme Court overrode that in 2018. In Janus v. AFSCME, the Court ruled that pulling agency fees from a nonconsenting public employee’s paycheck violates the First Amendment. No dues, no fees, no deductions of any kind for a union unless the employee affirmatively consents.6Justia. Janus v. American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees
So a Washington public employee cannot be forced to pay a union regardless of what the contract says. The union still represents everyone in the bargaining unit for negotiations and grievances; the money side is voluntary. Janus does not reach private-sector workers, who remain subject to union security clauses.
Religious Objections
Federal law carves out another path for workers whose sincere religious beliefs conflict with supporting a union. Under 29 U.S.C. ยง 169, if you belong to a religion that has historically objected to joining or financially supporting labor organizations, you can send the equivalent of your dues to a qualifying charity instead of the union.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 29 USC 169 – Employees With Religious Convictions Washington’s public-sector statute contains a parallel provision, letting a religious objector direct payment to a program consistent with conscience.5Washington State Legislature. Washington Code 41.80.100 – Union Security Provision
The exemption is narrower than it sounds. Personally disliking unions or their politics does not qualify. The religious body you belong to must have an established history of opposing union membership. If you fit, you still pay the same dollar amount; it just goes to a charity rather than the union.
Getting Rid of a Union Security Clause
Workers who want to strip a union security clause out of their contract do not have to decertify the union entirely. A deauthorization election is the narrower tool. It kills the requirement to pay dues or fees as a condition of employment while leaving the union in place as the bargaining representative.
At least 30% of the employees in the bargaining unit have to sign a petition and file it with the National Labor Relations Board.8National Labor Relations Board. UD Petition – Deauthorization of Union Shop Authority The NLRB then runs a secret-ballot election. The threshold to win is where people miscalculate: it takes a majority of everyone in the bargaining unit, not a majority of those who bother to vote. In a 100-person unit with 60 ballots cast, you still need 51 yes votes. An abstention functions as a no.