Michigan Passes Right-to-Work in Lame Duck Surprise Using Verbatim ALEC Language

Governor Rick Snyder signs sweeping anti-union legislation making Michigan—the birthplace of the United Auto Workers and a union stronghold—the 24th right-to-work state. The Michigan House and Senate ram through bills HB 4003 (public sector) and HB 4054/SB 116 (private sector) during a lame duck legislative session, with legislators already voted out of office participating in the vote. The “operative language in the bills is nearly identical to the American Legislative Exchange Council’s ‘model’ Right to Work Act,” with key sponsors including documented ALEC members Senator Arlan Meekhoff, Rep. Tom McMillin, and Rep. Pete Lund. The legislation passes without committee hearings amid massive pro-labor protests, with 282 bills enacted in the lame duck session—42% of all bills passed in the previous two years, and 180 votes taken on the final day alone. Michigan legislators had discussed their right-to-work plans at the ALEC Spring Task Force Meeting in Charlotte, NC earlier in 2012. The Koch-funded Mackinac Center, which had been pushing right-to-work since 1990 and serves on ALEC’s Commerce Task Force, provides “vehicle bills” for the lame duck session. According to the Economic Policy Institute, the law correlates with declining wages for both union and non-union workers. Michigan’s union membership drops precipitously after 2013, with over 140,000 Michiganders leaving unions by 2022.