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Right-to-Work Brawl in Michigan?

September 28, 2011

A Detroit Free Press editorial says that efforts by some state legislators to introduce right-to-work legislation in Michigan make no sense. Discussing the contract talks between the United Autoworkers and the Big Three automakers, the newspaper says:

So it's an odd moment for anyone to claim that organized labor is the chief obstacle to
Michigan's economic recovery, and a dangerous time to risk a Wisconsin-style showdown between Michigan's elected representatives and its 659,000 union members. But that is precisely the reckless gamble that some of Michigan’s Republican legislators seem determined to take.

Mark Bauer, business manager of Bay City, Mich., Local 692, says that Republican Gov. Rick Snyder has told some unionists that he is not in favor of enacting right-to-work legislation, but, says Bauer:

We’re in for a bumpy road. What happens when the pressure comes down [on the governor]?

The anti-union forces, says Bauer, are focusing on teachers and public workers, hoping that citizens who have little experience with unions will hear their message and say: “What’s wrong with everyone having a right to work?”

With high unemployment in the state, Republican legislators,says the Free Press, will try to convince unemployed workers that the state can better compete for business with other states, especially those in the South, by eliminating fair share union shops where everyone in a workplace pays for maintaining their collectively-bargained wages and benefits. Says the editorial:

…The upheaval likely to be triggered by a showdown with organized labor could end up scaring away more employers than any new restrictions on labor might attract.

Photo used under a Creative Commons license from Flickr userlynnewu.