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Union Security Clause
Practical Law Glossary Item 5-508-5483 (Approx. 4 pages)
Glossary
Union Security Clause
A collective bargaining agreement clause that is used to ensure that employees are excluded from a bargaining unit if they either:
- Do not support the union.
- Do not wish to pay union dues associated with union membership.
- Do not want to pay fees associated with a union representing the employees' bargaining unit.
Historically, the three most common types of union security clauses include:
A workplace where there is no union security clause requiring membership in, or payments to, a union as a condition of hiring or continued employment is often called an open shop.
The Labor Management Relations Act of 1947 (29 U.S.C. §§ 141 to 197) (LMRA) amended the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), to:
- Make it an unfair labor practice for unions and employers to form or bargain collectively for closed shops (29 U.S.C.§§ 158(a)(3) and 158(b)(3)).
- Allow states to enact right-to-work laws to bar union shops and agency shops for in-state workers that are covered by the NLRA (29 U.S.C. § 164(b)). States that have enacted these laws are commonly called right-to-work states.
For more information, see:
- Practice Notes: