Right To Work Essay Contest

Your Choice: Enter a Right to Work Essay or Video in Our Contest

February 2026 Right to Work Essay Contest

Submit a short essay or a quick video to let us know that you understand the Right to Work freedom and what it means.  (Possible 10 winners per month!)ENTER NOW!

What Do You Know About The Right to Work?

Submit a written essay (please keep it under 2 pages not including footnotes) or submit a video explaining the Right to Work principle (keep the video size to 10MB or less). Ten (10) chances to win!  We will award up to ten $100 prizes per month.It’s simple to enter:

• Entry is free.
• Explain the Right to Work Principle and how it benefits individuals and the United States. 
• The Contest is open to all students attending a United States high school (including homeschool), college, or graduate school.
• Your essay must be submitted by midnight on February 28, 2026. 
• See the application below for more details, and good luck!

Note: The Winner can only win once, so let your friends know about the contest after you win.

How would you describe the Right to Work Principle and its benefits for American employees?

PhoneThis field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Name(Required)

First Last Should you win the contest, this is the name we will use to address your $100 winning check.

Address

Street Address Address Line 2 City State / Province / Region ZIP / Postal Code Country AfghanistanAlbaniaAlgeriaAmerican SamoaAndorraAngolaAnguillaAntarcticaAntigua and BarbudaArgentinaArmeniaArubaAustraliaAustriaAzerbaijanBahamasBahrainBangladeshBarbadosBelarusBelgiumBelizeBeninBermudaBhutanBoliviaBonaire, Sint Eustatius and SabaBosnia and HerzegovinaBotswanaBouvet IslandBrazilBritish Indian Ocean TerritoryBrunei DarussalamBulgariaBurkina FasoBurundiCabo VerdeCambodiaCameroonCanadaCayman IslandsCentral African RepublicChadChileChinaChristmas IslandCocos IslandsColombiaComorosCongoCongo, Democratic Republic of theCook IslandsCosta RicaCroatiaCubaCuraçaoCyprusCzechiaCôte d’IvoireDenmarkDjiboutiDominicaDominican RepublicEcuadorEgyptEl SalvadorEquatorial GuineaEritreaEstoniaEswatiniEthiopiaFalkland IslandsFaroe IslandsFijiFinlandFranceFrench GuianaFrench PolynesiaFrench Southern TerritoriesGabonGambiaGeorgiaGermanyGhanaGibraltarGreeceGreenlandGrenadaGuadeloupeGuamGuatemalaGuernseyGuineaGuinea-BissauGuyanaHaitiHeard Island and McDonald IslandsHoly SeeHondurasHong KongHungaryIcelandIndiaIndonesiaIranIraqIrelandIsle of ManIsraelItalyJamaicaJapanJerseyJordanKazakhstanKenyaKiribatiKorea, Democratic People’s Republic ofKorea, Republic ofKuwaitKyrgyzstanLao People’s Democratic RepublicLatviaLebanonLesothoLiberiaLibyaLiechtensteinLithuaniaLuxembourgMacaoMadagascarMalawiMalaysiaMaldivesMaliMaltaMarshall IslandsMartiniqueMauritaniaMauritiusMayotteMexicoMicronesiaMoldovaMonacoMongoliaMontenegroMontserratMoroccoMozambiqueMyanmarNamibiaNauruNepalNetherlandsNew CaledoniaNew ZealandNicaraguaNigerNigeriaNiueNorfolk IslandNorth MacedoniaNorthern Mariana IslandsNorwayOmanPakistanPalauPalestine, State ofPanamaPapua New GuineaParaguayPeruPhilippinesPitcairnPolandPortugalPuerto RicoQatarRomaniaRussian FederationRwandaRéunionSaint BarthélemySaint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da CunhaSaint Kitts and NevisSaint LuciaSaint MartinSaint Pierre and MiquelonSaint Vincent and the GrenadinesSamoaSan MarinoSao Tome and PrincipeSaudi ArabiaSenegalSerbiaSeychellesSierra LeoneSingaporeSint MaartenSlovakiaSloveniaSolomon IslandsSomaliaSouth AfricaSouth Georgia and the South Sandwich IslandsSouth SudanSpainSri LankaSudanSurinameSvalbard and Jan MayenSwedenSwitzerlandSyria Arab RepublicTaiwanTajikistanTanzania, the United Republic ofThailandTimor-LesteTogoTokelauTongaTrinidad and TobagoTunisiaTurkmenistanTurks and Caicos IslandsTuvaluTürkiyeUS Minor Outlying IslandsUgandaUkraineUnited Arab EmiratesUnited KingdomUnited StatesUruguayUzbekistanVanuatuVenezuelaViet NamVirgin Islands, BritishVirgin Islands, U.S.Wallis and FutunaWestern SaharaYemenZambiaZimbabweÅland Islands Enter your address that you would like your $100 winning check mailed should you be one of the winners.

Email(Required)

Enter Email Confirm Email

Phone(Required)Used to notify winners. Identify the school you currently attend (or homeschool).How did you hear about the National Institute for Labor Relations Research’s (NILRR) Right to Work Essay Contest?(Required)

Competition Terms and Conditions(Required)

Requirements, please read carefully.

By agreeing to the rules, you allow us to publish your name in reference to winning the contest. You release all rights and ownership of your submission. You are positively affirming that your submission is your original work.

• Entry is free.
• Each essay must explain the Right to Work Principle and your understanding of the benefits of Right to Work for the individual and/or America as a whole.
• All students attending a United States high school (including homeschool), college, or graduate school may submit an entry.
• Length of the essay must be between 200-500 words.
• Limit size of video submission to 10MB or less.
• Only electronic submissions received during the contest month will be eligible.
• All entries must be submitted no earlier than 12:00 am Eastern on the 1st day, and no later than 11:59 pm Eastern on the last day of the contest month.
• Candidates must be 30 years old or younger.
• DO NOT use footnotes, but you may use endnotes, which will not count towards your essay word count.
• NO late entries accepted.
• Judges’ decisions are final with no appeal.

Important Dates

1. Submission of January essay contest begins at 12:00 am Eastern on the first day of the contest month.
2. Essay contest submissions end 11:59 pm Eastern on the last day of the month.
3. Winners will be posted on NILRR.org no later than the 15th day of the following month.
4. Winners will be notified no later than the 15th day of the following month.

How are essays judged?

We are looking for an understanding of the Right to Work Principle, its benefits, and an ability to convey knowledge of the subject.

Essays will be judged on knowledge and understanding of the relevant material, the competent use of evidence, quality of argumentation, originality, structure, writing style, and persuasive force.

The better essays are those which demonstrate understanding of the value of the Right to Work. Essays which ignore or fail to address the strongest arguments are unlikely to be successful.

Essentially, applicants should write as precisely and directly as they are capable.

Of course, we do look to identify plagiarism or the use of AI. Our decisions are final.

Contact

Any media inquiries regarding the essay competition should use our contact form.
FAQs

Q. I missed the deadline. May I still register or submit an essay?
A. No.

Q. Is it necessary to include footnotes or endnotes in an essay?
A. No.

Q. May I submit more than one essay?
A. Yes, but not in the same month or if you have already won a contest.

Q. May our group submit or write an essay?
A. No. Each essay must be the work of a single individual.

Q. Are there any entry fees?
A. No.

Q. Will I receive feedback on my essay?
A. Unfortunately, individual feedback on essays is not possible.

Q. How can I be sure that my essay submission was successful?
A. You will be sent a confirmation email and directed to a confirmation landing page. If you did not receive both, it is possible there is a typo in your email submission. You may want to resubmit.

Q. Will taxes be deducted from my prize?
A. No, any taxes you owe will be entirely your responsibility.
I agree to the competition terms and conditions.

File(Required)Max. file size: 10 MB. Submit your essay by uploading here. If you submit a video file, please note the file type and include any passwords if necessary to open and view your file. If you send a written essay, our preferred formats are .pdf, ,txt, and .docx. We will attempt to open other file formats as well. Δ