In the United States, the introduction of 'right to work' laws has been linked with lower overall benefits but higher economic growth by some proponents.
[2][3][4] Such conclusions are debatable, however, as employment, investment, and income in traditionally unionized sectors of the economy cannot be correlated to the passage of such laws.
Although the National Labor Relations Act permits construction employers to enter into pre-hire agreements, in which they agree to draw their workforces from a pool of employees dispatched by the union, employers are under no legal compulsion to enter into such agreements.
Non-union construction employers have also adopted the phrase "merit shop" to describe their operations.
The term open shop is also used similarly in Canada, mostly in reference to construction contractors that have at least a partially non-union workforce.
In February 2015, Illinois Republican Governor Bruce Rauner filed suit, claiming that fair-share agreements are unconstitutional and a violation of the First Amendment right to free speech.
[13] The case is named after Mark Janus, an Illinois child support specialist covered by a collective bargaining agreement.
The outcome of the case was in favor of Janus and as such non-union members cannot be compelled to pay fees in accordance with a given fair-share agreement that is in place with respect to a union.