Unions took a political beating in June when they tried and failed to
recall Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker. Now they are going into battle on
the Nov. 6 ballot in Michigan, where the stakes, if anything, are
higher.
This time the Republican governor is not the target, at least not directly. Michigan's Rick Snyder is no ally of Big Labor, and he has signed legislation that tilts the balance of power away from unions. But he has blocked efforts by the Republican legislature to make Michigan a right-to-work state, where workers represented by a union do not have to join it.
But the battle lines are familiar. Unions and the Democratic Party have lined up in favor of three ballot measures that would expand the reach and power of organized labor, especially in the public sector. The unions seek to bring home health workers under their wing, keep emergency managers of local governments from changing union contracts, and make collective bargaining a constitutional right.
National Implications
"It's high-stakes, high-risk, high-reward for both sides now," said F. Vincent Vernuccio, director of labor policy for the free-market oriented Mackinac Center in Midland, Mich. He calls the collective bargaining measure, Proposal 2 on the ballot, "an absolutely unprecedented power grab by government unions."
This time the Republican governor is not the target, at least not directly. Michigan's Rick Snyder is no ally of Big Labor, and he has signed legislation that tilts the balance of power away from unions. But he has blocked efforts by the Republican legislature to make Michigan a right-to-work state, where workers represented by a union do not have to join it.
But the battle lines are familiar. Unions and the Democratic Party have lined up in favor of three ballot measures that would expand the reach and power of organized labor, especially in the public sector. The unions seek to bring home health workers under their wing, keep emergency managers of local governments from changing union contracts, and make collective bargaining a constitutional right.
National Implications
"It's high-stakes, high-risk, high-reward for both sides now," said F. Vincent Vernuccio, director of labor policy for the free-market oriented Mackinac Center in Midland, Mich. He calls the collective bargaining measure, Proposal 2 on the ballot, "an absolutely unprecedented power grab by government unions."
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