“Michigan workers are the most talented and hard-working in the world and deserve to be treated with dignity and respect,” said Gov. Gretchen Whitmer after signing the legislation. | Patrick Semansky/AP Photo
03/24/2023 03:34 PM EDT
In a major victory for labor unions, Michigan on Friday became the first state in more than half a century to repeal a right-to-work law.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed legislation passed by the Democratic-controlled Legislature, overturning a 2012 GOP law that allowed workers to choose not to join unions or pay union dues as a condition of employment, even if the union represents them in negotiations.
“Michigan workers are the most talented and hard-working in the world and deserve to be treated with dignity and respect,” Whitmer, who was the Democratic leader in the state Senate at the time the right-to-work law was enacted, said in a statement.
Republicans, however, said the move would backfire by discouraging employers from locating or expanding in the state.
“Dramatically transforming our policies to harm workers and job providers will hang a ‘Closed for Business’ sign at our state’s borders and take Michigan off the list for future projects,” House Republican Leader Matt Hall said in a statement earlier this week during the vote on final passage.
The anti-union law’s repeal is a particularly significant symbolic victory given the special place Michigan holds in the organized labor movement.
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