Michigan Passes Controversial Labor Bill As Thousands Protest
The proposed right-to-work law will prohibit unions from requiring public employees to join and pay dues. The bill, which still needs Gov. Rick Snyder’s signature, was approved by lawmakers 58-51 Tuesday. All of these photos were taken today at the Capitol Building in Lansing.
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Benjamin Sapiens 5 months ago“In our glorious fight for civil rights, we must guard against being fooled by false slogans, such as ‘right to work.’ It is a law to rob us of our civil rights and job rights. Its purpose is to destroy labor unions and the freedom of collective bargaining by which unions have improved wages and working conditions of everyone… We demand this fraud be stopped. Our weapon is our vote.” — Martin Luther King, speaking about right-to-work laws in 1961
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- JeonjuMike Michigan Passes Controversial Labor B...
- peterag Michigan Passes Controversial Labor B... and thinks it’s Win
- treezandbeez Michigan Passes Controversial Labor B...
- cortd Michigan Passes Controversial Labor B...
- Irishgirl06 Michigan Passes Controversial Labor B... and thinks it’s Win
- buddersmoosh thinks Michigan Passes Controversial Labor B... is Fail & Win
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buddersmoosh 5 months agoFail to the bill win for all the protests stay strong fight the injustice
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- esperanzarubiot thinks Michigan Passes Controversial Labor B... is a Poor Decision
- Mike Jansen thinks Michigan Passes Controversial Labor B... is Win & Fail
- Jennifer Kramer Michigan Passes Controversial Labor B... and thinks it’s Fail & WTF
- Ianthe010203 thinks Michigan Passes Controversial Labor B... is Trashy & Fail
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esperanzarubiot 5 months agoI hate to see bad legislation be passed but it makes my heart proud as a girl born and raised in Lansing to see the people take to the streets and fight for what they believe in. Pure Michigan, always.
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- jimmy smits thinks Michigan Passes Controversial Labor B... is Win
- jesseecah407 thinks Michigan Passes Controversial Labor B... is Trashy
- laurenc21 Michigan Passes Controversial Labor B...
- kristins11 thinks Michigan Passes Controversial Labor B... is LOL
- likewhoaa Michigan Passes Controversial Labor B...
- jonathannortham thinks Michigan Passes Controversial Labor B... is Win
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Ianthe010203 5 months agoI’ll start by saying I’m pro union. I agree that every job does not necessarily need one but I do believe that they are necessary. Right to work is an attack on unions- plain and simple. People working at a place that has good wages and benefits because it is unionized , but who are not paying dues are benefiting from a service that they do not deserve - they are freeloading, and it’s not fair to the actual members. I understand that people should have a choice about whether to join a union or not but doesn’t the choice come with deciding whether or not you work at a unionized place? If you don’t want to pay union dues, then don’t take a job at a place that has a union. But people want to work at these place because of the good wages and benefits, but those are only there because the union bargained for them and is supposed to keep the employer in check (i agree that this does not always happen and that unions themselves could do a better job, and so members must keep them in check.) That’s one issues….
Secondly, this is a problem worth protesting because it undermines democracy and is purely political. The Governor of MI has always said that Right to work was off the table but then suddenly decides to push it through without notice or public forum during the lame duck sessions? Some of those who had to vote on the bill said they didn’t even have a chance to read it because it literally came out of nowhere. The MI Republicans lost seats and know that this will be last time that they will ever get to push this sort of legislation through. they are saying that this is for economic reasons, because it will make the state more attractive to cooperations but really it’s all political. They want to get rid of unions because they are one of the biggest donors to Democrats. I hope this makes sense, but it is a pretty complicated issue. And I tend to ramble so sorry about that too! kthanksbye! -
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Ianthe010203 5 months ago
so I did say that I realize that all profession don’t need unions. and I’m glad that you work in a field where you’re properly compensated for the work you do and your employer doesn’t take advantage of you but a lot of people are that fortunate and need a union so that they can have a voice.
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justino3 5 months agoIf unions are so great why should giving people a choice undermine the unions? Wouldn’t people WANT to join the unions? And therefore taking away mandatory membership of unions shouldn’t hurt them unless the unions themselves aren’t performing services that people would want to be a part of. Taking away the choice on whether or not you have to be in a union is undemocratic.
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Dariana 5 months agoIf the union is genuinely providing beneficial services, employees should want to join and pay dues. If the union isn’t doing anything, employees won’t see the point. If anything, I hope measures like this will incentivise unions to examine their own merits and cause some to improve their benefits. Unions as a whole are beneficial entities, though there are certainly bad apples in every bunch. I’d be pretty pissed if I were forced to pay to be a member of a group that I felt wasn’t working in my best interests.
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Benjamin Sapiens 5 months ago
Why would workers want to join unions when, thanks to this legislation, they’re able to enjoy all the hard-won benefits the union provides without ever paying dues? Right-to-work doesn’t give people to right to choose whether or not to join a union, it give them the opportunity to mooch of the unions without contributing.
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laurenc21 5 months agoAs a teacher in Texas (also a right to work state) the only power a union has is to help provide legal advising. I appreciate - oddly enough- that I’m not obligated or forced to join a union. I have honest competition if I want to apply for a job, not jockeying to get employed over someone who’s in a union. For someone who is looking for a job, right to work eliminates obligatory employment. All I think of with unions (Teacher wise) are New York City’s Rubber Room with the worst of the worst teachers sitting and collecting pay because of unions. Earn your keep, don’t expect it.
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khadejhiak 5 months agoCan someone explain to me why this would be a bad thing? I honestly want to know.
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LoLo 5 months ago
basically, because “right to work” for employees means “right to hire non-union workers” for employers, which seriously undermines the union’s bargaining power. If everyone has to be in the union, then employers are obligated to negotiate with unions- ignoring them isn’t an option. But, under “right to work”, if a union makes requests, employers can go around them and hire non-union workers. Unions only work if they can put up a unified front. Not saying that “right to work” is necessarily good/bad, but that’s the rationale behind the protests (or so I’d imagine).
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laurenc21 5 months ago
Unions in some industries protect the workers (especially trades like sheet metal or line workers at Ford) from massive layoffs or wage cuts. Most of these are hourly employees. Unions usually do contract negotiations for insurance and wages, but the negative is that they essentially block out anyone who isn’t union from getting employed at certain places. It’s all perspective on how they benefit you.
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Heathermameez 5 months ago
I never understood why someone should be forced to join a union in order to work
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