Skip to main content

News Briefs

Date Posted: January 11 2008

'Wrong for Michigan' says anti-RTW effort
A proactive effort to inform and sway Michigan residents about a potential right-to-work law for our state began a few weeks ago with a television and radio ad campaign.

Sponsored by the Union Laborers Community Investment Fund, the goal of the ads is to blunt an effort that's widely anticipated to start on primary Election Day - Jan. 15. Over the last few months, the Michigan AFL-CIO has sponsored a number of meetings informing organized labor communicators and affiliated unions about the anticipated effort to implement a right-to-work law in Michigan.

With the state House and governor's office currently controlled by Democrats, a legislative right-to-work effort has no chance of getting off the ground - in fact, it never got off the ground when the state was under the complete control of GOP Gov. John Engler and a Republican House and Senate.

But with the state's economy in the tank - and conservative pundits pushing the anti-union legislation as an economic cure-all in the state's newspapers just about every week - the National Right-to-Work Committee sees an opening.

One of their publications said last year "that the committee would do everything possible to assist the efforts of right-to-work advocates in Michigan, who are currently in the process of establishing a new state organization dedicated to prohibiting forced union dues and fees."

"Obviously, passing a right-to-work law in Walter Reuther's old stomping ground won't be easy," said Matthew Leen, vice president of the National Right-To-Work Committee. "But we are prepared to give our support to pro-right- to-work Michiganians for as long as it takes them to succeed."

Right-to-work laws basically gut the ability of unions to represent their members by allowing workers to opt out of paying union dues - while still enjoying the benefits of union affiliation. According to the state AFL-CIO, Michigan workers are paid an average of $7,601 more than workers in the average right-to-work state.

In addition, the percentage of people without health care coverage in right-to-work states is almost 33 percent greater than in Michigan. Seventy percent of Michiganians younger than 65 have employer-provided health insurance, compared with only 62 percent in "right-to-work" states.

The national groups behind the right-to-work effort in Michigan aren't known for sure, but it's expected that the money will come from big business groups. In addition to the TV and radio ads, union workers will be going to the polls around the state on Jan. 15 and urge voters not to sign petitions as part of a "decline to sign" campaign.

The unions' anti-right-to-work effort may be premature - no one is sure about the extent of the petition campaign or their specific plans. But organized labor is determined to be on top of the issue - and public education is the first step.

For more, go to www. wrongformichigan.org.