This week, the House and Senate passed their own versions of “Right to Work” Legislation affecting both public and private employees. The bills passed both chambers with only Republican support. A few House and Senate GOP members did vote against the measures. The bills will be set for final passage on Tuesday, December 11 and Governor Snyder has indicated that he will sign the bills into law when they are presented to him.
The “Right to Work” law would prohibit agreements between labor unions and employers that govern the extent to which an established union can require employees’ membership, payment of union dues, or fees as a condition of employment. At the same time, employees working for employers operating under union agreements would be entitled to the same fringe benefits found under the labor agreements already in place whether they choose to join the union or not.
MITA is currently in discussions with each union with which we negotiate regarding the impact of the pending “Right to Work“ law. By extending the current agreements that are already in place, the union security issue, which would be affected by the “Right to Work” legislation would be preserved.
Please contact Mike Nystrom if you have additional questions or concerns at mikenystrom@mi-ita.com or call him at the MITA office at 517-347-8336.
