LANSING — Michigan's Democratic-led House approved legislation Wednesday that would repeal the state's “right-to-work” law that was passed more than a decade ago when Republicans controlled the Statehouse.
Repealing the law, which prohibits public and private unions from requiring that nonunion employees pay union dues even if the union bargains on their behalf, has been a top priority for Democrats since they took full control of the state government this year.
“This bill is not about making history. It is about restoring the rights of workers from whose work we’ve all benefited,” Rep. Jim Haadsma, a Battle Creek Democrat, said on the House floor prior to the vote.
The Mackinac Center for Public Policy, a non-profit organization that conducted research supporting right-to-work leading up to its passage in 2012, maintains that the law provides better job growth, significant household income growth and higher population growth than forced unionization states. Repealing the law, according to the center, would essentially impose a $600 to $1,000 tax on workers who would be forced to join a union.
“Nonmembers that aren’t paying because of right-to-work are getting all of the same benefits but they're not paying,” said Steve Delie, director of labor policy at the Mackinac Center. “The flipside is also true, which is that nonmembers can’t speak for themselves, they can't negotiate on their own behalf…The nonmembers are forced to associate with the union and the union is forced...
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