I haven’t been following this closely, but it bears attention. The Michigan legislature last week passed “right to work” legislation which would deprive unions of automatic union dues deductions, among other things.
Already protests similar to what took place in Wisconsin have started at the Capitol in Lansing. Via my favorite progressive blogger, Allison Kilkenny:
Right to work legislation is a mortal threat to unions. And the Democrats the unions helped elect are coming to the aid of the unions. Harry Reid has termed the legislation an “assault.”
The Michigan congressional delegation has warned the Governor of the fight to come, according to Greg Sargent of WaPo who has good Democratic sources, “Right to work” push guarantees all out war in Michigan”:
Top Democrats in the Michigan Congressional delegation just wrapped up their meeting with Governor Rick Snyder, during which they urged him in no uncertain terms: If you go forward with “right to work” legislation, you’ll be consigning the state to years of discord and division. They urged him to consider vetoing the legislation or postponing it until the next session — or even agreeing subjecting it to referendum…..The tenor of the meeting, which participants described as urgent and intense, underscores the gravity of the situation — not just for Democrats, but for the state itself. Dems told Snyder that forging ahead with “right to work” legislation risked undermining the progress in labor-management relations in the state and could create a situation similar to Wisconsin, where an ongoing battle over collective bargaining tore the state apart for over a year.
Michigan appears headed for the same long, strange trip Wisconsin experienced, assuming Gov. Snyder has the guts of Gov. Walker.
But as the economic experience in Wisconsin shows, it’s worth the effort.
Stay strong Gov. Snyder.
Update: Byron York: Dems in all-out fight for union power in Michigan
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