The standoff in Wisconsin over the benefits and rights of public employees could for the first time in decades spur changes across the country over so-called "right-to-work" laws -- or laws that prohibit unions from forcing workers to join.
For years, the country has been split practically 50-50 between states that allow employees to decide whether to join a union and states that allow unions to require membership. Most southern and central Midwestern states are right-to-work states, while the West Coast, New England and the northern Midwest comprise what critics call "forced-unionism" states.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011...t-work-debate/
Note: Published February 21, 2011