Rick Snyder: Right To Work Bills Signed Into Law In Michigan

Posted on December 12, 2012 by Jean

by Amanda Terkel
Huffington Post
Posted: 12/11/2012 6:09 pm EST
Updated: 12/11/2012 10:41 pm EST

WASHINGTON — Gov. Rick Snyder (R) officially made Michigan a “right-to-work” state on Tuesday, signing into law two bills that significantly diminish the power of unions.
“I have signed these bills into law. … We are moving forward on the topic of workplace fairness and equality,” he said at a press conference on Tuesday evening, just hours after the state House passed the bills.

Right-to-work laws forbid contracts between companies and unions that require all workers to pay the union for bargaining on their behalf. Although business groups and conservatives cast the issue in terms of workplace freedom, unions note that the laws allow workers to opt out of supporting the union although they reap the benefits of the collective bargaining. Since the laws tend to weaken unions generally, unions, as well as President Barack Obama, call the legislation “right to work for less.”

Snyder’s move is a particular victory for right-to-work proponents. Most right-to-work states are solidly red and in the south. Michigan, however, has one of the highest rates of unionization in the country, is the birthplace of the modern automotive industry, and is consistently a swing state in elections and went for Obama in 2012.

Throughout the day, at least 12,500 protesters showed up at the Capitol in Lansing. The gathering occasionally turned ugly, with punches thrown and pepper spray dispersed.

The GOP-controlled state legislature had fast-tracked the two bills, which authorize right-to-work measures for public and private unions in the state, bypassing the normal committee process and public input period.

Click Here to continue reading.

http://jhaines6.wordpress.com/2012/12/12/rick-snyder-right-to-work-bills-signed-into-law-in-michigan/