Marathon Pundit: Michigan is officially a right-to-work state

Friday, March 29, 2013

Michigan is officially a right-to-work state

Yesterday it was official. The Great Lakes State became a right-to-work state.

From the Detroit News:

Today – March 28, 2013 – marks a new day for labor freedom in Michigan as landmark legislation making Michigan a right to work state goes into effect.

Starting today, workers will have a choice in union membership and labor unions will have to do what every other voluntary organization has to do: Earn their membership by service and not outdated work rules that force membership. Because the legislation was passed last year without immediate effect, it becomes law today on the 91st day after the 2012 Legislature adjourned. The final vote came after a day of demonstrations and violence by labor unions and activists opposed to ending decades of coercive, compulsory union membership in Michigan.

There are exemptions – and the law will not apply to all workers. Firefighters, local and state law enforcement officers, those represented by federal unions, employees protected under federal laws (such as the Railway Labor Act) and some other transportation workers, agricultural workers and domestic workers are not covered by the law. Right to work will not immediately apply to businesses that have existing collective bargaining agreements. Therefore, if a current labor agreement extends beyond the effective date of the law (March 28, 2013), membership – and payment of union dues – will remain mandatory until that labor agreement expires.

The reaction to right to work by Big Labor and state bureaucrats wedded to the old monopoly system reveals their true motives in dealing with their “members.” The Civil Service Commission claims that state employees are not covered by the law. Labor unions, primarily in the public sector, have been trying to renegotiate contracts as far out as possible before the law’s effective date in order to deny their members choice for years. Labor unions and supporters of the old, forced membership system can be expected to turn to the courts in an effort to avoid the law.