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Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin signed a bill on Jan. 7 making the Bluegrass State the 27th right-to-work state in the country.
"Closed shops" that require union membership as a condition for being hired and for continued employment were outlawed under the Taft-Hartley Act in 1947. But "union shops" are still permissible under federal law. Union shops require employees to either join a union or pay certain membership fees within a specified timeframe after being hired.
For example, a collective bargaining agreement might stipulate that new bargaining unit members must pay dues after 30 days, explained Mark Neuberger, an attorney with Foley & Lardner in Miami.
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Federal labor law, however, allows states to establish "right-to-work" laws.
Kentucky's right-to-work law essentially "outlaws the union shop," said Tom Birchfield, an attorney with Fisher Phillips in Louisville. "This means that it will be illegal for a company and union to agree that union membership or the payment of any union dues is...