For 11 years, Michigan’s private-sector workers had the right to choose whether or not they wanted to join a union. They lost that right in February after Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and her fellow Democrats repealed the state’s “right-to-work” law.
Now, employees, economists and industry leaders are asking what the effect will be on the state’s economy and on the incomes of the workers. Is it possible for Michigan to bring back employee freedom, or is “right to work” now dead on arrival in the capitol?
These were just a few of the issues addressed during the “Restoring Workers Rights and Freedoms” roundtable at the Freedom Embassy at the Mackinac Center, moderated by InsideSources.com.
For Steve Delie, the director of labor policy at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, the data are clear: “Right to work” was a big win for Michigan.
“When you look at the economic factors, Michigan was almost universally better off during the ten years following right to work’s passage than the ten years before,” Delie said. Unemployment, labor force participation and job creation in the state improved during the “right-to-work” decade.
“But I think by far the most illustrative statistic is inflation-adjusted income. When you look at income before the ‘right to work,’ in that 10-year period, it was essentially static, growing at just 0.6 percent. When you look after ‘right to work,’ inflation-adjusted incomes were up 20 percent. So you’re talking very significant economic impacts that I think we’re going to start seeing stagnate, and reverse,” Delie said.
So. can the “right-to-work” repeal itself be reversed? Could the Michigan legislature bring it back?
Jared Rodriguez, the executive director of the Michigan-based Center for Independent Employees (CIE), wasn’t optimistic.
“If you look at who controls the legislature and the executive office in Michigan right now, the majority is not a ‘right-to-work’ friendly group. So, it is not going to happen.”
There is a solution for Michigan workers who want their independence, according to Rodriguez: Decertification.
“If you want help getting out from underneath the union, or you want to stop the union from organizing your shop because you enjoy the benefits in the workplace and having a direct relationship with your employer without a third party coming in and telling everybody what they should do, decertification is the way,” he said.
Union decertification allows employees to vote to remove a union as their exclusive bargaining representative.
According to Rodriguez, CIE provides legal guidance and support to employees who wish to eliminate unions from their workplace and eradicate “must pay dues” clauses from union contracts.
While CIE has been part of 200 employee campaigns, “right-to-work” advocates believe the record of success in states that have adopted their policy can help make the case for Michigan to return to the fold.
According to Shane Hernandez, the president of Associated Builders and Contractors of Michigan, “There was a large phase of growth in Michigan” after “right-to-work” took effect in 2013. He also credited other pro-growth business policies adopted by the state.
Hernandez says most of his members aren’t union shops, so the direct effect of ending “right-to-work” is relatively small. What concerns him is that ending “right-to-work” opens doors to other expansive government policies.
“We’ve seen proposals to crack down on independent contractors,” he said. “Meaning that if you like the flexibility of working as a 1099 employee, you might not be able to do that in Michigan anymore. If they pass a proposed new independent contractor law or create a so-called ‘temp workers bill of rights,’ that will make it incredibly difficult to become a temp worker.”
Hernandez compared the legislation being considered in Michigan to California’s anti-independent contractor law — except worse.
“The language is exactly what was originally proposed in California before they had to do more than a hundred exemptions. Ours has none of the exemptions,” Hernandez said.
“So if you like your DoorDash and your GrubHub and your Uber, well, good luck.”
Whatever happens in Michigan, there are still 26 states with “right-to-work” laws, including Indiana and Wisconsin on Michigan’s border. Rodriguez said workers will still want the independence they’ve enjoyed in the past, and many will choose to fight for it.
“Whether it’s ‘right to work’ or non- ‘right to work,’ whatever the political implications, it doesn’t matter to us. This is the workers’ decision. They have an option through decertification to move forward. If the Michigan legislature does not make Michigan a ‘right-to-work’ state, that’s the only other option,” he proclaimed.
“And we believe workers are going to take it.”