KNOW YOUR
RIGHTS.
NLRA Section 7 is the federal law that protects your right to organize. Here's what it actually lets you do, and what your employer cannot legally do in return.
The short version
- →Section 7 protects organizing in all 50 states, the 26 right-to-work states included.
- →Your employer cannot legally fire, threaten, spy on, interrogate, or bribe you over organizing.
- →Threats count even when polite: no one has to say "fired" to break the law.
- →Weingarten rights only apply once you have a union. Don’t invoke them before.
- →Retaliated against? Document immediately, sign nothing, file an Unfair Labor Practice (ULP) charge within 6 months.
Document everything from day one. Details below.
The NLRA covers employees, not independent contractors. If your agency classifies you as a freelancer or contractor, your NLRA protections may be limited even if you work like an employee. This matters. Get clarity on your classification before organizing. → Find a Lawyer
✓ YOU CAN DO THIS
Discuss wages, hours, and conditions with coworkers
Organize during non-work time in non-work areas
Distribute union literature in non-work areas on non-work time
Wear union insignia, buttons, or stickers at work
Sign authorization cards and encourage coworkers to do the same
Attend union meetings outside of work
File charges with the NLRB if your rights are violated
Be represented in disciplinary meetings: ONLY once your workplace has a union (Weingarten rights)
Weingarten rights (the right to have a coworker present in a disciplinary meeting) only apply once your workplace has a union. In most private-sector workplaces without a union, your employer is NOT required to allow a representative. Do not invoke this right at a non-union employer. Talk to a labor attorney about your specific situation.
✗ THEY CANNOT DO THIS
Fire, demote, or discipline you for organizing activity
Spy on your organizing meetings or conversations
Threaten to close, cut benefits, or take action to stop organizing
Promise raises or bonuses to get workers to oppose the union
Interrogate you about your union sympathies or activities
Prohibit you from talking about the union during breaks or lunch
Deny you equal treatment because of union activity
Transfer, reassign, or schedule you adversely to punish organizing
Veiled threats and implied surveillance are chargeable. "I hear you've been talking to people": implying they're watching you is illegal (creating an impression of surveillance). "Be careful, reviews are coming up": tying reviews to organizing is a threat, even said nicely. Threats don't need the word "fired" to be chargeable.
DO THESE RIGHTS APPLY IN RIGHT-TO-WORK STATES?
Yes, with an important distinction. The NLRA applies in all 50 states. You can organize, vote, and form a union anywhere. But in the 26 right-to-work states (including Texas, Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, North Carolina, Arizona, and others), no worker, however they voted, can be required to pay dues or fees as a condition of employment, even while covered by the contract. This affects the union's financial sustainability and sometimes its bargaining leverage, but it does NOT remove your right to organize.
What that means for your campaign: in a right-to-work state, membership stays voluntary forever: no one can ever be required to join or pay. But the union must still represent everyone in the unit, member or not: that's the legal duty of fair representation, and it applies to grievances, discipline, and the contract alike. So an RTW campaign is a permanent persuasion effort: you win the election once, then keep earning voluntary membership by delivering. The strong RTW locals hold high voluntary membership exactly that way: visible wins, real representation, and one-on-ones that never stop.
Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming. (Michigan repealed its right-to-work law effective February 2024; it no longer belongs on this list.)
YOUR STATE MATTERS
Federal law is the floor, not the ceiling. With the NLRB slower and less friendly in 2026, state law is where some of your strongest protections now live, and where some of the fights are happening.
The federal ban on mandatory anti-union meetings is on its way out: as of August 2026 the Board majority has both a formal request from its General Counsel to reverse it and the votes to do it. But a dozen states (including Connecticut, Oregon, Minnesota, New York, Illinois, and Washington) have their own laws letting you decline to attend employer meetings about unionization without punishment, and Maryland joins on October 1, 2026.
Litigation caveat: these laws are under legal attack. A federal court preliminarily blocked California's SB 399 in September 2025, and the appeal (argued in July 2026) is still undecided as of late August 2026. Minnesota's ban survived: the Supreme Court declined to hear a challenge to it in February 2026. Before you rely on one, check its current status, or ask a labor attorney.
As of August 2026, 16–18 states plus DC (depending on how you count) require employers to disclose salary ranges, in job postings or on request, including California, Colorado, New York, Washington, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Vermont, and New Jersey. Pair that with your federal Section 7 right: discussing pay with coworkers is protected concerted activity everywhere in the US ("concerted" just means with at least one coworker, not alone). A shared salary spreadsheet (built and shared from personal accounts, never company systems) plus posted pay ranges is how you find out exactly what your employer thinks your work is worth. It's one of the most effective, lowest-risk organizing moves available.
IF THEY RETALIATE
Retaliation is against federal law. But it happens. And in 2026, federal enforcement is slower and remedies are weaker than they were two years ago. That makes doing these steps immediately, and doing them right, matter even more.
DOCUMENT IMMEDIATELY
Write down what happened, when, where, who was present, and what was said, word for word if possible. Store this outside of company systems. The Retaliation Documentation Form gives you the format.
DON'T SIGN ANYTHING
One nuance: signing "received" on a write-up is not agreeing. Sign it, add "signed as acknowledgment of receipt only; I disagree," and keep a copy. But never sign releases, severance, or separation agreements without a lawyer: they often include waivers of your NLRA claims.
PRESERVE YOUR OWN RECORDS, OFF COMPANY SYSTEMS
Save what's YOURS: your own performance reviews, your own pay records, emails and messages sent TO you, and the exact words of what was said to you. On a personal device, now, before your access gets cut. But keep it that narrow: bulk-copying company files or anything client-confidential to a personal device can itself be a fireable offense, and under the after-acquired-evidence doctrine (a rule that lets an employer use wrongdoing it digs up later to cut what you are owed), it can cut off the back pay you would otherwise win. Document what happened to YOU. Don't exfiltrate the company.
TALK TO A LABOR LAWYER
Consultations are usually free (ask when you call) and always confidential. Your employer will never know you called. We've got a list of firms that specialize in this. The National Lawyers Guild has labor chapter resources too.
FILE THE UNFAIR LABOR PRACTICE (ULP) CHARGE
A ULP charge is a free one-page form filed with a federal agency. It is not a lawsuit and needs no lawyer. File with your regional NLRB office (go to nlrb.gov to find yours). You have 6 months from the date of the violation, and if you were fired, file immediately. One 2026 wrinkle: under the General Counsel's current case-handling rules, regions expect your supporting evidence within about two weeks of filing, so bring your documentation with the charge, not after.
REMEDIES IF YOU WIN
Reinstatement to your job, back pay for wages lost, removal of disciplinary records, and a posted notice to all employees confirming the violation. Honest caveat: those are the statutory baseline and they still hold. But as of August 2026, the NLRB's General Counsel has rescinded the enhanced-remedies policies of the prior administration, and contested cases move slowly. Expect the process to take months to years, not weeks. File anyway. The 6-month clock doesn't wait.
Last legal review: August 22, 2026