Democrats are now in full control of the Michigan state government. As one of their first orders of business, they’re going after workers’ rights.
The Detroit News
reports
that Michigan Democrats are making repealing our state’s “right-to-work” law, established in 2012, one of their first legislative priorities. This law ensures that labor contracts can’t force workers to be members of a union and/or pay union fees in order to work. It’s a basic protection for freedom of association, but it hurts the pocketbooks of union bosses (who also happen to
give
a lot of money to Democrats), so they’re doing everything they can to get it taken off the books.
POLL: MICHIGANDERS APPROVE OF RIGHT TO WORK BY 2:1 RATIO
Yet right-to-work is
wildly popular
in Michigan.
One poll this month found that 60% of Michiganders support the current right-to-work law, with only 29% opposing it. Even 46% of Democrats surveyed supported it, while only 40% opposed it. What’s more, union members also backed the law, with 60% in favor and just 34% opposed. That’s right: The very people this repeal is supposed to be “helping” don’t actually want it repealed.
It’s not hard to see why Michiganders, even many Democrats and union workers, support our right-to-work law.
It’s flatly immoral to force workers to join or finance a union if they don’t want to. Unions take positions people might not agree with and are very often openly partisan and political, explicitly fighting for Democrats and progressive policies. In recent memory, unions have lobbied for everything from school lockdowns to universal government healthcare to the erosion of independent contracting.
Suffice it to say not everyone’s on board with all that. Americans have a right to our beliefs, and that includes a right to associate with those we agree with — and disassociate from those with whom we disagree. Michigan Democrats are assaulting that fundamental right.
Their move would also hurt our state’s economy.
“Depriving private-sector union members of the freedom to choose whether or not to join a union will harm Michigan workers and also create a chilling effect for businesses that want to invest in our state,” the Michigan chapter of Americans for Prosperity, a fiscally conservative group,
warns
. “In 2021, Michigan began to lose population again, we ranked top in the country for small business closures and 6th for outbound moves. Our state and national economy are at a critical juncture, yet the labor policy agenda laid out by legislative leadership will result in an economic one-two punch that lacks consensus among Michigan voters.”
A
comprehensive analysis
from NERA Economic Consulting found that, all else equal, states with right-to-work laws are more likely to attract businesses and have better employment rates than states without them. While critics often argue right-to-work laws reduce wages, this analysis says the weight of evidence does not support that claim.
“While the economic results in these states do not by themselves demonstrate causality, they are broadly consistent with a substantial body of economic literature suggesting that, on balance, [right-to-work] laws lead to higher levels of economic performance,” Ph.D. economist Jeffrey A. Eisenach
concluded
.
So right-to-work laws protect workers’ basic rights to free association, are wildly popular, and contribute positively to the economy. The only real downside is union officials having less cash and power to use to bolster the Democratic Party.
Oh, wait, that’s not a downside at all.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Brad Polumbo (
@Brad_Polumbo
) is a libertarian-conservative journalist, the co-founder of
BASEDPolitics
, and a Washington Examiner contributor.
