The Virginia General Assembly passed legislation enacting Right-to-Work in 1947. Virginia is currently one of 27 Right-to-Work states.
Virginia’s Right-to-Work laws can be found in the Code of Virginia § 40.1-58 through 40.1-69. The statute states that “It is hereby declared to be the public policy of Virginia that the right of persons to work shall not be denied or abridged on account of membership or nonmembership in any labor union or labor organization.” The code also makes clear that employers can’t require employees to join a union, abstain from union membership, or require payment of dues as a condition of employment. The law protects the freedom of employees to make the choice of whether to join a union.
These long-standing Right-to-Work policies have fueled Virginia’s success and remain in place to ensure the Commonwealth’s continued economic growth.
Survey Data
In recent years multiple polls of Virginia voters have been conducted which show overwhelming support for Virginia’s status as a Right-to-Work state.
In 2025 Virginia FREE commissioned a poll conducted jointly by Republican and Democratic polling firms. The poll found: 89% of Virginians support Right-to-Work.
When hearing the statement:
“Workers should never be forced against their will to join a union or pay dues to a union as part of their job.”
The poll also asked this question about union dues:
- (Some/Other) people say that union dues often go to political candidates and causes, so each worker should be able to decide for themselves if they want to pay union dues.
- (Some/Other) people say that union contracts cover all workers, so all workers covered by union contracts should pay at least some union dues.
of respondents overwhelmingly chose that workers should decide for themselves if they will pay union dues.
A 2020 Virginia-specific poll from Public Opinion Strategies found:
68% of Virginia voters favor keeping Right-to-Work laws, including:
of voters oppose repealing the part of Virginia’s Right-to-Work law that prevents employees from being fired if they choose not to join a union or pay fees to a union.
strongly oppose repeal of this part, compared to just 32% who support repeal.
of voters believe that:
“no American worker should be required to join or pay fees to any private organization, even a labor union, if they choose not to.”
of voters agree:
“when a union chooses to represent all employees in the workplace, it is only fair that those employees pay fees to the union.”
