union security agreement

A union security agreement is an agreement between a labor union and an employer that the employer will require all employees to undertake a specified level of support for the union as a condition of employment. This level of support compels employees to become members of the labor union before a certain period of time, generally 30 days, as well as make certain payments or “agency fees” to the union and initiation fees as a condition of getting or keeping their job.

“Right-to-work” laws prohibit and invalidate union security agreements and union shops.

The Supreme Court ruled in Janus v. AFSCME Council 31, 585 U.S. 878 (2018), that union shop arrangements requiring public employees to subsidize a union is a violation of the non-consenting employee’s First Amendment rights to free speech. The Court held that states could not require public-sector unions to attempt to collect union dues from non-consenting employees. 

[Last reviewed in April of 2026 by the Wex Definitions Team] 

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