[h=3]By MATTHEW DOLAN And KRIS MAHER[/h]
APArmando Ramos, of Saginaw, Mich., protests during a rally at the state capitol in Lansing, Mich., on Tuesday.
LANSING, Mich.—The Republican-led Michigan legislature approved a pair of right-to-work bills, sending them on for the governor's expected signature, as thousands of union activists continued protesting outside the state capitol.
Two votes in the state House approved bills to allow workers in unionized workplaces in the public and private sector to opt out of paying union dues if they wish. The Senate approved both measures last week.
Michigan's GOP Gov. Rick Snyder will now have the opportunity to make good on a recent pledge to sign legislation that would allow most workers to opt out of paying union dues. He says he will sign them into law as early as Wednesday.
The Michigan House of Representatives approved Senate Bill 116, which covers private unions before 2 p.m. Tuesday. The final vote was 58-52. An earlier approval for public workers came on Tuesday morning amid thousands of protesters amassing in front of the state capitol.
[h=3]Riled Up Over Right to Work[/h]
Paul Sancya/Associated PressFrom left, union members Brian Brissette of Auburn, Mich.; Tom Gazley of Romeo, Mich.; and Eric Kozlow of Warren, Mich., watched the vote on a television at the capitol.
Republicans in Lansing appeared to learn lessons from previous fights over the rights of unionized workers. The measure carves out an exception for police and firefighters, key groups that had opposed the elimination of collective-bargaining rights in Ohio when they were targeted.
The law also comes with a spending provision, a political safeguard because bills containing appropriations in Michigan can't be as easily repealed through referendum.
Associated PressThousands of protesters gather for a rally on the state capitol grounds in Lansing, Mich., Tuesday.
Now, Michigan union leaders and their Democratic Party allies, their ranks diminished by years of job cuts in the auto industry, are scrambling to counter the threats to their membership, finances and political power. The clash over union rights in Michigan is also drawing the attention of national labor leaders. Teamsters President James Hoffa was in Lansing on Monday to rally with union supporters.
Democrats told Gov. Snyder as recently as Monday that the legislation could set back the state's progress in efforts to rebuild after the economic pummeling suffered during the recession. Leaders of organized labor contend that it was union concessions that helped revive the Big Three auto makers during the recession.
But the GOP—which took control of the governorship, state legislature and supreme court two years ago—maintains that it was its leadership to cut taxes that turned the state's $1.5 billion debt into a $457 million surplus to reinvigorate Michigan's economy.
Passing a right-to-work law in Michigan comes as a deep blow to unions, especially in a state the United Auto Workers union calls home. They see right-to-work as political payback for unions' traditional support for Democrats.
"These so-called right-to-work laws, they don't have to do with economics; they have everything to do with politics," President Barack Obama said in remarks at a union-represented auto plant outside Detroit on Monday. "What they're really talking about is giving you the right to work for less money."
Gov. Snyder for most of the two years since his election had sought to avoid a confrontation with the United Auto Workers and other big unions in this historically union-friendly state. Preaching a mantra of "relentless positive action," the venture capitalist-turned-politician had said until last month that proposals to weaken union power weren't on his agenda.
Gov. Snyder's public support for right-to-work measures, announced the same day that Republicans in the legislature launched a one-day drive toward initial passage of the right-to-work bills, blind-sided UAW President Bob King and other union leaders. The governor's support has also dramatized the shifts in the political landscape not just in this state, but also across the industrial Midwest.
He has angered public-employee unions by pushing for more power to restructure the finances of Michigan's troubled cities. But until now, he didn't directly challenge public-union bargaining rights, as Republican governors in Ohio and Wisconsin have done.
"He doesn't want this to be a part of his legacy," said Michigan Democratic Rep. John Dingell, the House of Representatives' longest-serving member. Michigan Democratic Party Chair Mark Brewer said "all legal options are on the table" to reverse the impact of right-to-work legislation.
The Michigan law won't apply to police and firefighter unions, a carve-out that has helped blunt popular opposition to it as well as negative political consequences for Gov. Snyder, according to labor experts. Both unions tend to be popular with voters and their membership typically leans more Republican.
"When they carve out the police and firefighters, it probably reduces the public opposition to the legislation by 50%," said Gary Chaison, a professor of industrial relations at Clark University in Worcester, Mass.
In Ohio, unions overturned a law restricting bargaining rights for 350,000 public employees in a campaign that featured ads warning about potential impacts to communities such as fewer police patrolling the streets.
By contrast, a similar law passed in Wisconsin last year excluded police and firefighter unions. Democrats failed to block the law, and earlier this year Gov. Scott Walker, who pushed the legislation, survived a recall vote heavily funded by labor. The law is tied up in a legal challenge.
Gov. Snyder has been an idiosyncratic Republican, pushing through big tax cuts for business but also calling for more spending on roads, bridges and mass transit—ideas that aren't popular with many fiscally conservative GOP lawmakers.
Now, it appears Gov. Snyder has decided he has more to lose by alienating members of his own party than by defying Michigan union leaders such as the UAW's Mr. King.
"The labor movement has been tremendously weakened in the place where it once was strongest," Clark University's Prof. Chaison added. "It's not only a direct affront to labor unions but a sign of the loss of influence in our society and economy."
Gov. Snyder faced a strong push from the most conservative members of his own party to seize the opportunity to pass right-to-work legislation after unions failed in their bid to enshrine collective-bargaining rights in the state constitution in the November general election.
The GOP will claim a smaller majority in the state legislature starting in January, making the current lame-duck session ripe for quick action, supporters said. Supporters of limiting union power ratcheted up their public campaign. A group called the Michigan Freedom Fund with Republican ties began airing television commercials in support of right to work even before Gov. Snyder announced his support for the legislation.
Jared Rodriguez, president of the conservative-leaning West Michigan Policy Forum, said eliminating the state's business tax was its No. 1 priority when the group was founded four years ago. After the tax was eliminated last year, the business group pressured leaders in Lansing, including the governor, to get behind its next priority—right to work—or the group would take the issue directly to voters.
"We were going to pursue a citizen petition in 2013," said Mr. Rodriguez, whose groups conducted polls, tested political messages and commissioned economic-impact studies. "If you don't act, we told them, we will take measure into our hands."
Dick DeVos, a former Republican candidate for governor who served as chief executive of direct-seller Amway, said in an interview that he had been in contact with Gov. Snyder urging him to support the measure, which the governor had previously been reluctant to do.
"Timing is always a factor. I believe this was absolutely the right time for Michigan because the possibility was there that we could get it though," Mr. DeVos said.
Write to Matthew Dolan at [email protected] and Kris Maher at [email protected]
APArmando Ramos, of Saginaw, Mich., protests during a rally at the state capitol in Lansing, Mich., on Tuesday.
LANSING, Mich.—The Republican-led Michigan legislature approved a pair of right-to-work bills, sending them on for the governor's expected signature, as thousands of union activists continued protesting outside the state capitol.
Two votes in the state House approved bills to allow workers in unionized workplaces in the public and private sector to opt out of paying union dues if they wish. The Senate approved both measures last week.
Michigan's GOP Gov. Rick Snyder will now have the opportunity to make good on a recent pledge to sign legislation that would allow most workers to opt out of paying union dues. He says he will sign them into law as early as Wednesday.
The Michigan House of Representatives approved Senate Bill 116, which covers private unions before 2 p.m. Tuesday. The final vote was 58-52. An earlier approval for public workers came on Tuesday morning amid thousands of protesters amassing in front of the state capitol.
[h=3]Riled Up Over Right to Work[/h]
Paul Sancya/Associated PressFrom left, union members Brian Brissette of Auburn, Mich.; Tom Gazley of Romeo, Mich.; and Eric Kozlow of Warren, Mich., watched the vote on a television at the capitol.
Republicans in Lansing appeared to learn lessons from previous fights over the rights of unionized workers. The measure carves out an exception for police and firefighters, key groups that had opposed the elimination of collective-bargaining rights in Ohio when they were targeted.
The law also comes with a spending provision, a political safeguard because bills containing appropriations in Michigan can't be as easily repealed through referendum.
Associated PressThousands of protesters gather for a rally on the state capitol grounds in Lansing, Mich., Tuesday.
Now, Michigan union leaders and their Democratic Party allies, their ranks diminished by years of job cuts in the auto industry, are scrambling to counter the threats to their membership, finances and political power. The clash over union rights in Michigan is also drawing the attention of national labor leaders. Teamsters President James Hoffa was in Lansing on Monday to rally with union supporters.
Democrats told Gov. Snyder as recently as Monday that the legislation could set back the state's progress in efforts to rebuild after the economic pummeling suffered during the recession. Leaders of organized labor contend that it was union concessions that helped revive the Big Three auto makers during the recession.
But the GOP—which took control of the governorship, state legislature and supreme court two years ago—maintains that it was its leadership to cut taxes that turned the state's $1.5 billion debt into a $457 million surplus to reinvigorate Michigan's economy.
Passing a right-to-work law in Michigan comes as a deep blow to unions, especially in a state the United Auto Workers union calls home. They see right-to-work as political payback for unions' traditional support for Democrats.
"These so-called right-to-work laws, they don't have to do with economics; they have everything to do with politics," President Barack Obama said in remarks at a union-represented auto plant outside Detroit on Monday. "What they're really talking about is giving you the right to work for less money."
Gov. Snyder for most of the two years since his election had sought to avoid a confrontation with the United Auto Workers and other big unions in this historically union-friendly state. Preaching a mantra of "relentless positive action," the venture capitalist-turned-politician had said until last month that proposals to weaken union power weren't on his agenda.
Gov. Snyder's public support for right-to-work measures, announced the same day that Republicans in the legislature launched a one-day drive toward initial passage of the right-to-work bills, blind-sided UAW President Bob King and other union leaders. The governor's support has also dramatized the shifts in the political landscape not just in this state, but also across the industrial Midwest.
He has angered public-employee unions by pushing for more power to restructure the finances of Michigan's troubled cities. But until now, he didn't directly challenge public-union bargaining rights, as Republican governors in Ohio and Wisconsin have done.
"He doesn't want this to be a part of his legacy," said Michigan Democratic Rep. John Dingell, the House of Representatives' longest-serving member. Michigan Democratic Party Chair Mark Brewer said "all legal options are on the table" to reverse the impact of right-to-work legislation.
The Michigan law won't apply to police and firefighter unions, a carve-out that has helped blunt popular opposition to it as well as negative political consequences for Gov. Snyder, according to labor experts. Both unions tend to be popular with voters and their membership typically leans more Republican.
"When they carve out the police and firefighters, it probably reduces the public opposition to the legislation by 50%," said Gary Chaison, a professor of industrial relations at Clark University in Worcester, Mass.
In Ohio, unions overturned a law restricting bargaining rights for 350,000 public employees in a campaign that featured ads warning about potential impacts to communities such as fewer police patrolling the streets.
By contrast, a similar law passed in Wisconsin last year excluded police and firefighter unions. Democrats failed to block the law, and earlier this year Gov. Scott Walker, who pushed the legislation, survived a recall vote heavily funded by labor. The law is tied up in a legal challenge.
Gov. Snyder has been an idiosyncratic Republican, pushing through big tax cuts for business but also calling for more spending on roads, bridges and mass transit—ideas that aren't popular with many fiscally conservative GOP lawmakers.
Now, it appears Gov. Snyder has decided he has more to lose by alienating members of his own party than by defying Michigan union leaders such as the UAW's Mr. King.
"The labor movement has been tremendously weakened in the place where it once was strongest," Clark University's Prof. Chaison added. "It's not only a direct affront to labor unions but a sign of the loss of influence in our society and economy."
Gov. Snyder faced a strong push from the most conservative members of his own party to seize the opportunity to pass right-to-work legislation after unions failed in their bid to enshrine collective-bargaining rights in the state constitution in the November general election.
The GOP will claim a smaller majority in the state legislature starting in January, making the current lame-duck session ripe for quick action, supporters said. Supporters of limiting union power ratcheted up their public campaign. A group called the Michigan Freedom Fund with Republican ties began airing television commercials in support of right to work even before Gov. Snyder announced his support for the legislation.
Jared Rodriguez, president of the conservative-leaning West Michigan Policy Forum, said eliminating the state's business tax was its No. 1 priority when the group was founded four years ago. After the tax was eliminated last year, the business group pressured leaders in Lansing, including the governor, to get behind its next priority—right to work—or the group would take the issue directly to voters.
"We were going to pursue a citizen petition in 2013," said Mr. Rodriguez, whose groups conducted polls, tested political messages and commissioned economic-impact studies. "If you don't act, we told them, we will take measure into our hands."
Dick DeVos, a former Republican candidate for governor who served as chief executive of direct-seller Amway, said in an interview that he had been in contact with Gov. Snyder urging him to support the measure, which the governor had previously been reluctant to do.
"Timing is always a factor. I believe this was absolutely the right time for Michigan because the possibility was there that we could get it though," Mr. DeVos said.
Write to Matthew Dolan at [email protected] and Kris Maher at [email protected]