SB 376, titled the Worker Freedom Act and captioned as a right-to-work bill, would prohibit employers from requiring workers to join, remain in, or financially support a labor organization as a condition of employment. It would also bar “fair share” or equivalent payments to third parties in lieu of union dues, and it would require any payroll deduction of union dues or similar charges to be supported by a signed written authorization from the employee. Employees could revoke that authorization with written notice, effective 30 days later.
The bill also would make agreements between employers and labor organizations void to the extent they conflict with these employee rights, and it would prohibit strikes, picketing, boycotts, or similar actions aimed at inducing prohibited agreements. Employers would be required to post a notice informing employees of these rights. Violations would be treated as misdemeanors with fines of up to $1,000, and harmed persons could seek injunctions, damages, costs, and attorney fees. The bill expressly excludes certain federally governed employment relationships, including those covered by the Railway Labor Act, federal employees, and federal enclaves, and it includes a severability clause and immediate effective date.
The bill would also amend Montana law governing public employees. It would preserve public employees’ existing rights to organize and bargain collectively, while expressly stating that a public employee may choose not to join or assist a labor organization. It would revise the public-sector dues deduction statute to require written authorization for payroll deductions and to allow revocation on 30 days’ written notice, with the employer required to notify employees of that revocation right.
Overall sentiment in the available record appears unfavorable to the bill. The only recorded committee action was a 12-0 vote to table the bill in the Senate Business, Labor and Economic Affairs Committee, and the bill ultimately died in process. That suggests the proposal did not advance beyond initial committee consideration.
The main point of contention is the bill’s effect on labor organizations and collective bargaining. Supporters of right-to-work policies generally frame such measures as protecting individual worker choice and limiting compulsory union support, while opponents typically view them as weakening unions, reducing bargaining power, and interfering with labor-management agreements. The bill’s provisions restricting union-related agreements and labor actions, along with its criminal penalties, are likely the most controversial aspects.
SB 376 would have added a new right-to-work framework to Montana law by creating a new chapter within Title 39 and amending existing public-sector labor statutes. It would have restricted mandatory union membership and dues arrangements, required written authorization for payroll deductions, imposed notice obligations on employers, and created civil and criminal enforcement mechanisms. It also would have modified the rules for public employees by clarifying their right not to join a union and by changing how union dues deductions are authorized and revoked.
The recorded sentiment is negative or at least non-supportive. The bill was tabled in committee by a unanimous 12-0 vote and then died in process, indicating there was no legislative momentum to advance it. No committee transcript is available, but the voting history suggests the proposal did not receive meaningful support at the committee stage.
The central contention is whether the state should prohibit mandatory union support and union-security agreements. Proponents would likely argue the bill protects individual freedom of choice, while opponents would likely argue it undermines collective bargaining and union funding. Additional controversy comes from the bill’s ban on strikes, picketing, boycotts, or other efforts to secure prohibited agreements, its misdemeanor penalties, and its application to public employees through amendments to existing labor law.