Democratic state Reps., from left, Denise Mentzer, Matt Koleszar, Joey Andrews, Jaime Churches and Dylan Wegela, listen as testimony is given during a House Labor Committee meeting, Wednesday, March 8 , 2023, in Lansing, Mich., on repealing the state's right-to-work law and restoring prevailing wages. (AP Photo/Joey Cappelletti)
JOEY CAPPELLETTI
Wed, March 8, 2023
LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan's Democratic-led House approved legislation Wednesday that would repeal the state's “right-to-work” law that was passed more than a decade ago when Republicans controlled the Statehouse.
Repealing the law, which prohibits public and private unions from requiring that nonunion employees pay union dues even if the union bargains on their behalf, has been a top priority for Democrats since they took full control of the state government this year.
“This bill is not about making history. It is about restoring the rights of workers from whose work we’ve all benefited,” Rep. Jim Haadsma, a Battle Creek Democrat, said on the House floor prior to the vote.
Supporters of the repeal, who poured into the gallery above the House chambers, cheered loudly as the legislation passed along party lines late Wednesday. Legislation restoring the state’s prevailing wage law, which requires contractors hired for state projects to pay union-level wages, was also approved by the House.
Both bills will need to pass the state Senate before being sent to Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer for final approval.
A $1 million appropriation was attached to both bills prior to the House vote that Republican House Leader Matt Hall said would make them “referendum-proof.” Michigan law says the “power of referendums” does not extend to bills with appropriations attached.
Whitmer previously wrote in a government accountability plan that if “a non-appropriations bill has a dollar amount added to circumvent the people’s right to a referendum," she would veto it.
The House Labor Committee advanced the repeal, in addition to the legislation that would restore the state's prevailing wage law, early Wednesday as supporters and opponents of the bills packed the main committee room and three overflow areas. The committee allowed just over an hour of testimony, predominately from supporters of the repeal, before voting to advance the bills.
“We don't want the government telling two private parties what they can agree to in negotiations,” said Jonathan Byrd, president of the South Central Michigan AFL-CIO. “That is what right-to-work does.”
Whitmer commended the committee for putting “Michigan workers first,” saying in a statement that “working people should always have basic freedoms in the workplace without interference from the government.”
House Republicans argued in the committee that the public showed its support of right-to-work when voters rejected a 2012 constitutional amendment that aimed to protect the right to organize and bargain collectively. They also complained that the bills were being rushed through and that more debate was needed.
Haadsma, who chairs the House Labor Committee, said the committee “had to accomplish this today so we can accomplish this by spring break,” referring to the Legislature's two-week break that begins March 23.
When the Legislature passed the right-to-work legislation in 2012, thousands of union supporters descended on the Capitol to protest. The law dealt a devastating blow to organized labor in a state that had played an important role in the growth of the U.S. labor movement, though unions have lost significant power in the region over the past decade.
The year before, neighboring Wisconsin under Republican Gov. Scott Walker proposed all-but ending collective bargaining for most public workers. It sent off weeks of protests that grew to as large as 100,000 people and led Democratic state senators to leave the state in a failed attempt to stop the bill’s passage.
Four years later, after he had said he wouldn’t go after union rights of private sector workers, Walker signed a right-to-work law for Wisconsin.
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Associated Press writer Scott Bauer in Madison, Wisconsin, contributed to this report.
Michigan House passes bills to repeal right-to-work
Clara Hendrickson, Detroit Free Press
Wed, March 8, 2023
Michigan House Democrats passed legislation Wednesday night over GOP objections to deliver on a key promise to union activists: repealing the state's right-to-work law.
The law, established by Republicans in 2012, allows workers in unionized jobs to opt out of paying union dues and fees. Michigan — a state steeped in labor history — could become the first state in nearly 60 years to ditch its right-to-work law.
"It has done nothing but hurt hardworking Michiganders," said bill sponsor state Rep. Regina Weiss, D-Oak Park. "It has allowed people who don't pay union dues to take advantage of union benefits."
Democrats championed their bills to repeal the law as a boon for workers' rights that would strengthen unions and help reverse wealth inequality. "It gives union members their power back," said state Rep. Jim Haadsma, D-Battle Creek, who chairs the House Labor Committee. "It restores balance in negotiations."
Republican lawmakers countered that the legislation will harm Michigan's economic competitiveness and make unions less responsive to workers' needs.
"This is about forcing Michigan workers to join a union," said House Minority Leader Matt Hall, R-Kalamazoo. "If a union is providing the value, then people will join."
More:Planned repeal of right-to-work law puts Michigan on national stage
More:After years of shrinkage, Michigan state government employment is growing again
The legislation — House Bill 4004 and House Bill 4005 — both passed by a one-vote margin with all Democrats sticking together to support the measures.
HB 4004 would repeal right-to-work for public sector workers. A U.S. Supreme Court decision barring public sector unions from requiring employees covered by collective bargaining agreements to pay union dues renders HB 4004 unenforceable. But proponents of the bill want to change Michigan’s labor laws for public employees in the event the court overturns the decision.
HB 4005, meanwhile, would repeal Michigan's right-to-work law for workers in the private sector.
Both bills were modified late Wednesday to include a $1 million appropriation to the Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity to respond to public questions about the legislation and implement it.
The appropriation means that the legislation is not subject to a public referendum in which voters could reject the law. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in her first term issued an executive directive promising to veto any legislation "that circumvents the right to a referendum."
The votes took place the same day the House Labor Committee heard testimony on the bills and sent them to the floor for a vote.
Tens of thousands of Michigan workers currently protected by union agreements don't provide any financial support to the union. State Rep. Jimmie Wilson, D-Ypsilanti, said eliminating right-to-work will "repeal the right to freeload."
The share of workers covered by a union declined before Michigan's right-to-work law kicked in and continued to fall in the subsequent years. Most Michigan employees are not covered by unions today. Democrats who supported the bills Wednesday posit stronger unions will secure higher wages and force all employers to keep pace.
Clara Hendrickson fact-checks Michigan issues and politics as a corps member with Report for America, an initiative of The GroundTruth Project. Contact her at chendrickson@freepress.com or 313-296-5743. Follow her on Twitter @clarajanehen.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan House passes bills to repeal right-to-work
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