Free Republic

More than 44,000 home-based caregivers no longer are part of the SEIU Healthcare Michigan, according to federal reports filed by the union. The workers previously were forced to pay dues or fees to the SEIU after the union orchestrated a scheme that took money from the Medicaid checks of the people the workers were caring for in homes across the state. The "dues skim" ended in 2013, but not before the SEIU took more than $34 million from the elderly and disabled across the state. According to the union's LM-2 report filed with the U.S. Department of Labor, 44,347 home-based...

A trio of Michigan public school teachers is actually fighting with their union. “The Mackinac Center Legal Foundation brought a suit on behalf of Angela Steffke, Rebecca Metz and Nancy Rhatigan, who were forced to continue paying dues or fees to their union or face being fired,” Derk Wilcox reported in the March/April 2014 issue of the Mackinac Center’s report. “This status would have lasted for the next 10 years under the union’s ‘insecurity’ clause — a dubious collective bargaining agreement hastily enacted on the eve of the right-to-work law [in Michigan] taking effect.” “When the lawsuit was heard in...

Since 2008, Rich States, Poor States: ALEC-Laffer State Economic Competitiveness Index has used the latest economic data to determine which states are doing well and which states are struggling. The past 50 years of data point to a clear connection between pro-growth policies of lower taxes, less regulations and competitive labor policies. The states that embrace free markets and limited government fare much better than their high-tax, big government counterparts. Utah, South Dakota, Indiana, North Dakota and Idaho—this year’s top five states—showcase how good economic policy can lead to economic prosperity, while New York, Vermont, Illinois, California and Minnesota—the bottom...

Labor: Missouri's legislature votes this week on whether to become a right-to-work state. More hiring is the goal, and if any state needs a jobs pick-me-up, it's the Show Me State. Missouri lost 24,000 jobs in 2009, 2010 and 2011, even as many surrounding states gained employment. Labor bosses, of course, detest right-to-work laws and brand them as anti-union. Wrong. Right-to-work laws don't prohibit unions; they merely allow workers the choice of whether they want to join a union and pay dues. Many workers select not to join a union because they personally object to the political advocacy of the...

One could hear several varieties of apocalyptical claims while Michigan was in the process of becoming the 24th right-to-work state in the nation. Rep. Sander Levin called it "frightful ... for the people of the state of Michigan and for the middle class." The Associated Press said it was a "devastating and once-unthinkable defeat to organized labor." And one union in Michigan claimed it was "a violation of the prohibitions against involuntary servitude." In other words, a form of slavery. Now that the law is in effect, however, and one can see what right-to-work actually does in practice, these claims...

As auto manufacturing has shifted to the South, the UAW has made a push to begin unionizing workers in right-to-work states. The words and actions of union officials are interesting compared to states where workers are still forced to pay money to the union. On the website for a UAW chapter in Alabama, which is trying to organize workers at a Mercedes-Benz plant, the union writes the following in its FAQ section: Q: Do I have to join the union? A: First of all remember Alabama is a Right to Work state; therefore, it is totally voluntary whether or not...

"According to The Wichita Eagle, the United Brotherhood Of Carpenters And Joiners Of America Local 201 began a standard protest outside Subaru of Wichita last week with a "Shame on Subaru of Wichita" sign legally placed on the highway right-of-way in front of the dealership. (The union, which has not specified its exact complaint, may have been upset that the dealership's contractor hired a non-union shop for renovations.) The dealership responded instead with its own sign, turning the union's charge into one of "having unbeatable prices."

Two Michigan teachers who filed unfair labor practice complaints against the Michigan Education Association have won their freedom from the union. The MEA is no longer contesting complaints from Coopersville kindergarten teacher Miriam Chanski and hall of fame wrestling coach William "Ray" Arthur, said Patrick Wright, director of the Mackinac Center Legal Foundation, which represents the teachers. Last year, Chanski and Arthur, as well as a group of other teachers from across the state, asked the Mackinac Center to help them get out of their union. The Mackinac Center Legal Foundation filed complaints on their behalf with the Michigan Employment...

Unions are finding sneaky ways to exact dues — but workers are fighting back. Two Michigan teachers will finally be allowed to end their union membership in the Michigan Education Association and will be refunded any dues they paid during this school year, according to a settlement agreement signed this week. William “Ray” Arthur, a teacher and wrestling coach at Petoskey Senior High School, and Miriam Chanski, a Coopersville kindergarten teacher, tried to quit the teachers’ union after Michigan adopted legislation to become the 24th right-to-work state in the U.S. Both Arthur and Chanski wrote letters informing the MEA that...

Mark down Feb. 14, 2014, as the Saint Valentine's Day union massacre. Years from now we may look back at this date as the turning point of the modern-day union dominance over manufacturing industries in America. That's the broader national significance of the 712-to-626 vote in Chattanooga, Tenn., to reject a United Auto Workers attempt to unionize a Volkswagen auto assembly plant. Despite a full-court blitz by the AFL-CIO and even the Volkswagen management to allow the union in, the workers turned thumbs-down to the power play. Why? Three weeks ago I traveled to Chattanooga on behalf of the Beacon...

Michigan state employees had ample reason to celebrate the new year — their unions can no longer get them fired for not paying dues or fees. Almost all of the collective bargaining agreements between the state and its classified employee unions expired Dec. 31, meaning that right-to-work now applies to the vast majority of the more than 35,000 unionized state employees and they can exercise their rights immediately. "Yes, state employees will have the option of opting out of the union," said Kurt Weiss, spokesman for the State Budget Office. Unlike the Michigan Education Association, which attempts to limit teachers...

Michigan Teamsters Local No. 214 filed a lawsuit alleging that the State's right-to-work law constitutes an “unconstitutional reinstitution of slavery.” “Unions are a worker's main protection against employer abuse and mistreatment,” union spokesman Peter Piddler maintained. “Abuse and mistreatment are the hallmarks of involuntary servitude. For the State to allow a person to work without becoming a member of a union opens the worker to abuse and mistreatment and is, therefore, an endorsement of slavery.” “Slaves weren't allowed to form unions,” Piddler pointed out. “That was a crucial block to their attainment of full human rights. Unions compelling every worker...

Opponents of Michigan adopting a right-to-work law predicted dire consequences for the state if workers were given the right to decide if they wanted to opt-out of paying money to a union as a condition of employment. But their claims were largely just hyperbole. One year ago Wednesday, the capitol lawn was packed with protesters as the Legislature passed a bill that made Michigan the 24th right-to-work state in the nation. In the days, weeks and years leading up to the law being signed, a lot of predictions were made by union officials, politicians, academics and activists. Here's a look...

The UAW has put together a flier on right-to-work "facts" that it is handing out to union members. The pamphlet's facts are wrong. I'll stay away from some of the statements that are more nuanced — for example, the UAW says the law requires them to provide services for all employees in a union shop, but neglects to mention that they fought to make that the law to increase bargaining power. Instead, I'll focus on the figures that are demonstrably untrue. Claim: "Workers in free bargaining states make on average an astounding $6,590 or 17% more annually than their counterparts...

Michigan teachers are discovering that their union is determined to make it as hard as possible for them to take advantage of the state's new right-to-work law, which prohibits workers from being forced to pay dues to a union. Nine teachers sued the Michigan Education Association in the last week alleging unfair labor practices. Eight teachers sued the MEA on Monday. They are being represented by the conservative Mackinac Center Legal Foundation. Their complaint alleges the union is violating the intent of the right-to-work law by only giving them a very brief period — the month of August — to...

An Indiana county judge has held that the Hoosier state's right-to-work law is unconstitutional based on an Indiana constitutional provision that originated in 1816 and was meant to limit slavery. Lake County Judge John Sedia, however, delayed implementation of the ruling until it could be appealed. The decision is almost certain to be overturned. The suit was brought by the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 150, AFL-CIO and some individuals. In essence, they argue that the duty of fair representation is the same thing as slavery. This is not the first time the plaintiffs have made such an outlandish...

Union activists and big labor supporters who were upset that people were gathering in Vancouver, Wash., to talk about worker freedom resorted to violence and intimidation Thursday night, which resulted in a Mackinac Center for Public Policy employee getting spat upon. F. Vincent Vernuccio, labor policy director at the Mackinac Center, was invited by The Freedom Foundation in Washington and the Cascade Policy Institute in Oregon to speak about the benefits of worker freedom. However, he didn't even get out of his car before he was confronted by protesters. A protester with bullhorn disrupts a meeting about the policy implications...

The Mackinac Center for Public Policy released a new right-to-work study titled, "Economic Growth and Right-to-Work Laws" in which these authors find that states with right-to-work laws do better economically — sometimes much better — than they otherwise would have. A right-to-work law prohibits workers from being forced to financially support a union. Specifically, we found that from 1947 through 2011 right-to-work laws increased average real personal income growth by 0.8 percentage points. In other words, if a state would have otherwise had a 2 percentage point growth rate, the presence of a right-to-work law raised that rate to 2.8...

A Lake County judge has ruled Indiana’s so-called “right to work” law unconstitutional. During a legal challenge launched by Local 150, Judge John Sedia took issue with the part of the law requiring unions to represent workers while making illegal for them to require membership dues. “The right to work law here is unsafe, unfair and an unnecessary law and now it’s been ruled unconstitutional, so we couldn’t be more pleased,” said Jeff Harris, spokesman for the Indiana AFL/CIO. “The court in Lake County has said (to the legislature), you’re requiring this statute, you’re requiring citizens and organizations in this...

Eight of the top 10 states that saw an increase in personal income from new people coming to those states were right-to-work states, according to an analysis done by the Tax Foundation. Michigan lost $14.4 billion in personal income from 2000 to 2010 and was 45th overall. Michigan became a right-to-work state in March. Only Ohio (46th), New Jersey (47th), Illinois (48th), California (49th) and New York (50th) did worse. All six of the bottom states did not have right-to-work laws during those 10 years. New York lost $45.6 billion in personal income in that time period. Florida did the...