by Tom Gantert
About 9% of all Michigan’s workers would be impacted by the repeal of the state’s right-to-work law.
The House of Representatives passed two bills that would rescind the state’s right-to-work law that was passed in 2012.
But RTW, which made it illegal to make an employee pay union dues as a condition of employment, only applies to people who are covered by private sector unions.
The House Fiscal Agency analysis of the bill covering public sector unions stated, “In 2018, the United States Supreme Court ruled in Janus v AFSCME that requiring public employees to pay fees to cover union costs was a violation of the First Amendment. Although the Janus ruling would take precedence over state law and House Bill 4004 would thus be unenforceable, supporters of the bill have stated that its provisions would serve as a placeholder should Janus be overturned.”
The state has 4,049,359 people employed of which 371,564 are in the private sector and covered by collective bargaining agreements and 247,387 are in the public sector and under union contracts, according to UnionStats.com.
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Tom Gantert worked at many daily newspapers including the Ann Arbor News, Lansing State Journal and USA Today. Gantert was the managing editor of Michigan Capitol Confidential for five years before joining The Center Square.
Photo “Welder” by Max LaRochelle.
