LANSING, MI (MPRN)-- Protestors have filled the halls and Rotunda of the state Capitol for a second day as the Legislature prepares to vote on measures to make Michigan a right-to-work state. That means workers in unionized companies could opt out of paying union dues.
Governor Rick Snyder and Republicans rolled out details of the legislation Thursday. It would cover all workers in the state except police and firefighter unions.
Governor Rick Snyder has long said a right-to-work law is not high on his list of priorities.
“This is about the relationship between unions and their workers, the workers in the workforce," he says. "And this is to give the people the ability to decide who they will associate with.”
The governor says economic activity in Indiana is up since after it became a right-to-work state earlier this year.
Once it’s enacted, the law could not void any current collective bargaining agreements. A technicality in the legislation would protect it from a referendum challenge--like the one that allowed votes to topple the state’s emergency manager law in November.