Four things to know about the right-to-work legislation approved by the Michigan Legislature yesterd
Four things to know about the right-to-work legislation approved by the Michigan Legislature yesterday: THE NAME IS MISLEADING It isn’t about a right to work but rather a right for workers to choose whether they want to join a union or pay fees similar to union dues. The Michigan laws would make membership in a union and payment of dues voluntary and would cover both the private and public sectors, except for fire and police unions. IT’S NOT THE FIRST STATE … The right-to-work drive in Michigan is the latest of a series of setbacks for labor unions in the U.S., beginning in 2011, when Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker pushed through the legislature limits on teachers’ and other public-sector unions. The Wisconsin limits on unions are on hold while the issue is challenged in court. Earlier this year, Indiana passed right-to-work legislation, and two cities in California voted to curb the pensions of public-sector workers. In all, 23 other states have some sort of right-to-work laws on their books. … BUT IT MAY BE THE BIGGEST The symbolism of turning Michigan into a right-to-work state is strong because it is the home of the U.S. auto industry and the place where autoworkers first began to demand better wages and working conditions in the assembly-line automotive plants built by industrial barons such as Henry Ford in the 1920s. Michigan is a stronghold of the union movement in the United States. Some 671,000 workers, or 17.5 percent, were members of unions in Michigan in 2011. WHAT’S NEXT? Democrats and unions already are planning to challenge the state measures in court. -- source link
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