President Obama is traveling to an auto plant in Michigan on Monday to drum up support for his plan to avoid the “fiscal cliff,” in part by raising taxes on the wealthiest Americans.
Obama plans to help announce a $100 million investment at Detroit Diesel, a Daimler-owned truck engine plant in Redford Township, Mich., as part of the White House’s public relations campaign to build support for his fiscal plan.
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In a flex of political muscle, Republicans in Michigan in a single day reached the brink of a goal that for years has seemed an all-but-impossible dream: making the labor bastion of Michigan a right-to-work state.
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The announcement comes a day after Obama met privately with House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio), their first face-to-face meeting in almost a month. Leaders of both parties expressed hope of a fiscal deal by year’s end to avert the broad tax increases and spending cuts that would kick in without a resolution.
As the president visits Michigan, which he won resoundingly in last month’s election, the state’s Republicans, backed by powerful and well-financed conservative groups, are moving to adopt so-called right-to-work legislation that would effectively ban unions there from requiring workers to pay dues.
The United Automobile Workers sees the measure as a threat to its existence in Michigan, the state that gave rise to modern industrial unions. The White House said last week that Obama opposes right-to-work legislation, although a spokesman could not say whether the president plans to address the bill directly in his remarks Monday.
The bill could become law as early as Tuesday, when Michigan’s Republican-controlled House and Senate are expected to take up the measure for final passage. Gov. Rick Snyder (R), who for the past two years said right-to-work legislation was too divisive to be on his agenda, abruptly switched sides last week and said he would sign the union-limiting bill if it comes to his desk.
The issue carries heavy symbolism for the national labor movement. Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) issued a statement Monday calling the measure “a blatant attempt by Michigan Republicans to assault the collective bargaining process and undermine the standard of living it has helped foster.”
Obama plans to help announce a $100 million investment at Detroit Diesel, a Daimler-owned truck engine plant in Redford Township, Mich., as part of the White House’s public relations campaign to build support for his fiscal plan.
Video
In a flex of political muscle, Republicans in Michigan in a single day reached the brink of a goal that for years has seemed an all-but-impossible dream: making the labor bastion of Michigan a right-to-work state.
More from PostPolitics
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Glenn Kessler FACT CHECKER | Are Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid really facing ‘imminent bankruptcy’?
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The announcement comes a day after Obama met privately with House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio), their first face-to-face meeting in almost a month. Leaders of both parties expressed hope of a fiscal deal by year’s end to avert the broad tax increases and spending cuts that would kick in without a resolution.
As the president visits Michigan, which he won resoundingly in last month’s election, the state’s Republicans, backed by powerful and well-financed conservative groups, are moving to adopt so-called right-to-work legislation that would effectively ban unions there from requiring workers to pay dues.
The United Automobile Workers sees the measure as a threat to its existence in Michigan, the state that gave rise to modern industrial unions. The White House said last week that Obama opposes right-to-work legislation, although a spokesman could not say whether the president plans to address the bill directly in his remarks Monday.
The bill could become law as early as Tuesday, when Michigan’s Republican-controlled House and Senate are expected to take up the measure for final passage. Gov. Rick Snyder (R), who for the past two years said right-to-work legislation was too divisive to be on his agenda, abruptly switched sides last week and said he would sign the union-limiting bill if it comes to his desk.
The issue carries heavy symbolism for the national labor movement. Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) issued a statement Monday calling the measure “a blatant attempt by Michigan Republicans to assault the collective bargaining process and undermine the standard of living it has helped foster.”