Freedom to Work – Michigan’s Second Chance

With Tuesday night’s signature of Gov. Rick Snyder, Michigan became the 24th state to free workers from laws that enforced collection of union dues and/or fees from workers, regardless of their desire to belong to, or support, the actions of a union.

The victory in the Great Lakes State provides supporters of the right-to-work legislation its strongest foothold yet in a region where union bosses and their bussed-in protestors (supported by much of the press) have recently suffered blows in Indiana and Wisconsin.

Here’s what the Michigan Governor had to say after signingthe recently passed legislation: “This is about freedom to choose. Workers should have the option if they are seeing value, they should be excited to join a union and they should join. If they see no value why should they put financial resources to do something that has no value to them? So that’s a big part of it. Standing up for workers.”

The Governor added, “…(it’s about) more and better jobs for Michigan. Just look, say, at Indiana that did this in February, they have literally gotten companies coming to their state that wouldn’t have come before, that are bringing thousands of jobs. We have had that same phenomenon in Michigan where companies would not come to Michigan because we are not a right-to-work state.”

Possibly one of the most critical factors in the passage of Michigan’s new law was education. Below are the major point supporters used to clearly explain what the law does for a worker and for bringing jobs back to the state.

• What Is The Freedom To Work Principle?  The Freedom to Work principle affirms the right of every American to work for a living without being compelled to affiliate with a union. Compulsory union membership or dues in any form contradict the fundamental human right represented by that principle. Every individual must have the right, but must not be compelled, to join or financially support a labor union.

  The Freedom to Work without being forced to join or pay dues to a union is a basic civil right, according to the Principle. While other civil rights laws protect employees from being discriminated against or fired based on membership or nonmembership in a certain race, creed, color, or sex, a Freedom to Work law prohibits job discrimination on the basis of membership or nonmembership, or financial support or nonsupport, of a private labor organization.

• What Is The Freedom To Work Act?  The Michigan Freedom to Work Act would guarantee that no resident of Michigan can be required, as a condition of employment, to join or pay dues or fees to a labor union. Such a law would also reaffirm and strengthen the existing federal labor-law provisions that bar hiring discrimination against union members.
• What Impact Will The Freedom To Work Act Have On Unions?  By guaranteeing every employee’s individual freedom to choose whether to join or pay dues to a union, unions must focus on serving their members as best as possible. Just as a company must satisfy its customers, a union must satisfy its members. The effect is to democratize unions. Unions must put their members first, instead of pursuing a controversial political agenda with their confiscated money.

Some expect to see a ripple effect on unions’ ability to financially support political moves that would help preserve their own livelihood and that’s not going over well with those on the loosing side.

Rep. Douglas Geiss (D) said the laws passage would lead to a resumption of the protests that led to unions some 70 years ago.

“There will be fights on the shop floor if many workers announce they will not pay union dues,” Geiss said. Teamsters president, Jimmy Hoffa told CNN, “This is just the first round of a battle that’s going to divide this state. We’re going to have a civil war.”