Michigan Senate Takes Major Step to Restore Union Rights

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On Tuesday, lots of people who supported unions gathered at Michigan’s Capitol Building. The Senate Democrats all voted the same way to remove a law that had been in place for 10 years and allowed workers the “right-to-work”. Michigan is generally thought to be a strong supporter of labor movement.

Democrats want to undo a law that was put into place in Michigan in 2012. This law stops public and private unions from demanding money (dues) even if the union represents non-union members. This is one of the Democrats’ main goals right now.

The state Senate voted 20-17 to repeal a law, which has then been approved by the House. Governor Gretchen Whitmer said she will sign it. The Senate also voted to bring back the “prevailing wage law”, which is a law that makes contractors on state projects pay wages like those in unions.

Today in Lansing, Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks said, “We’ve started a new day and we’re doing something to help workers – allowing them access to the rights they always counted on.”

People who supported unions had waited a long time in the Senate so they could cheer loudly when Democrats voted to get rid of the rule. If this happens in Michigan, it will be a great win for unions especially after Wisconsin and Indiana changed their laws against them in the past few years.

A group of 33 Democrats from the House have agreed to support a bill that promises to give some union members money back for their membership fees. This shows what the party wants to do now, after gaining complete power over our state government this year.

At a Senate Labor committee meeting on Tuesday, people had different views about the law called “right-to-work.” People who agree with unions said that workers’ wages and rights have gotten worse over the past decade. On the other hand, businesses thought it was a good law because it made the state more competitive again.

Wendy Block from the Michigan Chamber of Commerce said that having right-to-work laws makes our state more competitive compared to other states with the same laws. State Sen. Thomas Albert, who’s a Republican, added that if we repeal these laws, it will lead to being forced into joining unions.

The two bills have money connected to them, and Republicans say this is so that the laws won’t be changed by voters. The Michigan Constitution says that if there’s money attached to a bill, then voters don’t have the right to stop it from becoming a law.

Last year, Governor Whitmer pledged to not approve any laws getting rid of citizens’ right to say their opinion (referrendum). Her staff revealed that, while it was not her idea, she will sign a measure that aims to benefit Michigan’s working families.

People who do not like the policy can try to make it illegal by getting almost 450,000 people to sign a document called a “constitution amendment.” Before now, when there was an attempt to stop “right-to-work” laws there were lots of people who disagreed and it lost by 14%.

In Michigan in 2012, many workers were part of unions and it had a high percentage people who did this. But by 2022, the number had gotten lower and was 11th in the nation. In general, all over America, union membership has been going down for a long time and last year we had an all-time low of 10.1%.

In 27 US states, there are laws called “right-to-work” laws. To pass these laws in the last 10 years, Republicans in Michigan, Indiana and Wisconsin acted. Like a result of this action, lots of people protested.

For example, in 2012 tons of union supporters went to Michigan’s Capitol to protest after the Republican-ruled Statehouse got “right-to-work” laws passed without even having a hearing first.

The year before, Wisconsin’s Republican governor Scott Walker wanted to take away most of the rights of public workers to bargain collectively. This caused protests by as many as 100,000 people and some Democrats in the state even ran off so they could stop the new law from being passed.

However, after four years and despite saying he wouldn’t try to get rid of unions for private sector workers, Walker ended up signing a right-to-work law for Wisconsin.