*Please note: The exact date of publication for this document is unknown.

A 1974 pamphlet examining how “right to work” legislation undermines labor union power and disproportionately harms minority workers by eroding collective bargaining rights, reducing wages, and exacerbating economic insecurity. It analyzes the legal and political strategies used to enact these laws and critiques their impact on racial and economic justice.

In the aftermath of major civil rights and labor reforms of the 1960s, conservative state legislatures began passing “right to work” laws to weaken unions and roll back gains in workplace equity, particularly in the South. These laws emerged during debates over federal civil rights protections and labor rights, reflecting broader political shifts toward deregulation and anti-union sentiment. The pamphlet situates these developments within ongoing struggles for Black economic empowerment and highlights how legislative attacks on unions served to perpetuate racial and class inequalities.

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