And SEIU is gonna have a cow.
Imagine, throwing off the yoke of union oppression... in the heart of Obama union lacky-land! The death of the extortion of public employee unions!
How cool is that?
Michigan Legislature OKs separate "right-to-work" bills to curb unions
By Andrea King Collier | Reuters – 3 hrs ago
LANSING, Michigan (Reuters) - Michigan's Republican-controlled Legislature passed separate bills on Thursday aimed at making the home of the U.S. auto industry the 24th "right-to-work" state banning mandatory union dues, igniting raucous demonstrations that led to eight arrests.
The Michigan House of Representatives voted 58-52 to approve a measure that would make payment of union dues voluntary in the private sector, after Democrats walked out in protest at the public being kept out of the Capitol.
A few hours later, the state Senate passed two "right-to-work" bills for private- and public-sector workers on 22-16 and 22-4 votes. Each measure must be sent for consideration to the other chamber before receiving final legislative approval.
Republican Governor Rick Snyder has pledged to sign the bills when they are sent to him. Snyder, who said last year that "right-to-work" legislation would be divisive for the state, said this week he now supported it.
The House has adjourned until Tuesday, the next date when it could take up the bills sent to it from the Senate and the Senate could take up the House bill under Michigan rules.
More: God, I LOVE getting the unions neutered!.Thousands of union workers converged on the state capital, Lansing, to protest the sudden drive for the law, and officials closed the Capitol building's doors for hours, citing safety concerns.
A right-to-work law in Michigan, home to 671,000 unionized employees, could further deteriorate the membership, finances and political clout of labor unions.
"It would be extraordinarily damaging to the UAW and other trade unions like the Teamsters and teachers unions. It would be devastating," said David Cole, chairman emeritus of the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor.
"I don't think it would necessarily mean the demise of the UAW, but it could."
Gary Chaison, a labor expert at Clark University in Worchester, Mass., said the legislation "would be the ultimate disgrace for the UAW."
"Right-to-work laws are highly symbolic," he said. "It shows that unions' power has diminished in heavy manufacturing.
"If it's defeated, it's proof that unions can still rally the troops and mobilize members and nonmembers alike. It would be a tremendous victory or a tremendous defeat. That's why it's so important."
Supporters say such a law could create jobs in a state whose unemployment rate is 9.1 percent, by attracting nonunion companies. But at the state Capitol on Thursday, UAW President Bob King vowed to fight on.
"The working families are not going to lie down and watch their state go in a negative direction," King said in an interview with The Detroit News. "Every right-to-work state in America has lower wages, lower benefits, greater income equality, more discrimination, less equality in the workplace.
More:"Right to work is wrong for Michigan. … We'll look at all of the options: recalls, ballot proposals, whatever is going to re-establish the rights of workers in Michigan."
All the Red states should be Right-to-Work states.
ReplyDeleteWell let us see how far this goes. Now that Detroit is almost near insolvent and going to have to go through a managed municipal bankruptcy and other areas of Michigan in probably similar straights... Reminds me of California and its financial situation of municipal bankruptcies??
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