The Center Square) – Almost six months since the Michigan Legislature repealed Right to Work laws, more groups of workers are fighting back against what they claim are coercive measures taken by some unions to collect fees.
Recently, mechanics from Brown Motors in Petoskey and drivers from MV Transportation in Ypsilanti voted successfully to remove their union officials’ authority to gather union dues from non-union members.
The mechanics at Brown Motors voted against the International Brotherhood of Teamsters by 75%, according to the National Right to Work Foundation Legal Defense Foundation.
Teamsters also face a new lawsuit filed by nurses at Ascension Genesys Hospital in Grand Blanc Township, who allege union leaders threatened to fire them if they did not pay union fees.
The drivers from MV Transportation voted against the Amalgamated Transit Union by 78%, according to the Right to Work foundation. The National Right to Work Foundation covered the legal fees for all three worker groups.
Despite the fact that an overwhelming majority of Michiganders wanted Right to Work to remain in place, Michigan legislators repealed it on a narrow party-line vote as a giveaway to the union boss puppeteers that fund their campaigns,” National Right to Work Foundation President Mark Mix said in a statement. We at the Foundation are proud to help Michigan workers reclaim their freedom.
In 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court case Janus v. AFSCME ruled it unconstitutional for labor unions to extract agency fees from nonconsenting, non-union member employees in the public sector. Right to Work laws guaranteed private sector workers those same protections.
With the repeal of Right to Work laws in Michigan five months ago, some union bosses are now requiring non-members to pay union dues or risk losing their employment.
The only way workers in Michigan can end forced dues is by a majority voting to remove the union’s power to do so – a “deauthorization vote” – or by voting out the union entirely. The votes must then be certified by the National Labor Relations Board, the federal agency responsible for enforcing labor laws in the private sector.
The Transit Union’s website states that it “fights for transit workers by helping them organize local unions, negotiate collective bargaining contracts between its members and their employers, representing members in disputes with management, and making sure that employers adhere to the provisions of their collective bargaining agreement.
Teamsters Secretary-Treasurer Fred Zuckerman said in a statement that repealing the Right to Work law means “workers have better safety standards, higher wages, a louder voice on the job, and the uninhibited freedom of association in the workplace that they need and deserve.
The Center Square was unsuccessful in getting comment from the Transit Union and Teamsters before publication.
