Marathon Pundit: Michigan and right-to-work: Dominoes to fall

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Michigan and right-to-work: Dominoes to fall

Now that Michigan is a right-to-work state, who is next?

From the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

Michigan's swift conversion to a right-to-work state has galvanized advocates of the law, who vow to seek similar legislation nationwide under the battle cry: "If it can happen in Michigan, it can happen anywhere."

The next logical targets are Michigan's rust-belt neighbors that also have Republican governors and legislatures -- Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. The right-to-work forces are on the move even if lawmakers in those states express reluctance, as Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder once did.

They see labor's defeat in the birthplace of the United Auto Workers as the defining domino to lead the industrial Midwest into an era where it can compete with non-unionized southern states for jobs and prosperity.

"A lot of people are saying if they can do this in Michigan, why can't we do it here too?" said Greg Mourad, vice president of the non-profit National Right to Work Committee based in Springfield, Va. "There are 26 states without right to work laws and we're going after them."