Michigan is the first state in almost 60 years to overturn right to work legislation.
(CN) — Michigan officially repealed a decade old anti-union "right to work" law on Friday afternoon in a victory for the state's organized labor.
The law, passed in 2012 when Republicans controlled both chambers of the state Legislature, allowed individuals in unionized workplaces to opt out of paying union dues. It was a major financial and political setback for Michigan's unions, creating so-called free-riders who could enjoy some union benefits without paying for their costs. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Michigan union membership declined from over 16% of the workforce in 2012, to 14% in 2022. With the law repealed, unions can now require all workers in a union shop to pay the dues and fees necessary to maintain strike funds, pensions and collective bargaining representation.
Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed the trio of state House and Senate bills overturning the right to work law on Friday, following their narrow passage in both chambers earlier this week. One of the bills she signed also restores the state's prevailing wage law, which was axed by the state's GOP-led government in 2018. The new prevailing wage law requires contractors to pay their workers union-equivalent wages for all state projects.
“Today, we are coming together to restore workers’ rights, protect Michiganders on the job, and grow Michigan’s middle class,” Whitmer said in a prepared...
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