(The Center Square) – Nearly six months after the Michigan Legislature repealed right-to-work laws, more worker groups are taking action against the coercive tactics some unions use to collect fees.
Mechanics at Brown Motors in Petoskey and drivers at MV Transportation in Ypsilanti recently successfully voted to strip union officials of the ability to collect dues from non-members.
According to the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, mechanics at Brown Motors voted 75 percent of the time against the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.
The Teamsters also face a new lawsuit filed by nurses at Ascension Genesis Hospital in Grand Blanc Township, who say union officials threatened to fire them if they didn’t pay their union dues.
Seventy-eight percent of MV Transportation drivers voted against the Amalgamated Transit Union, according to the National Right to Work Foundation, which paid for the legal costs of three labor groups.
“Despite the overwhelming majority of Michiganders wanting to keep right-to-work, Michigan lawmakers repealed it with a narrow partisan vote to fund the puppet campaigns of union bosses,” Mark Mix, president of the National Right to Work Foundation, said in a statement. “Our foundation is proud to help Michigan workers get their freedom back.”
In 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Janus v. AFSCME that it is unconstitutional for unions to collect agency fees from non-union public sector employees without their consent. Right-to-work laws guarantee the same protections to private sector workers.
Following the repeal of Michigan’s right-to-work law five months ago, some union leaders are forcing non-members to pay dues or risk losing their jobs.
The only way Michigan workers can end forced dues is to vote by majority to strip the union of its dues-paying powers (a “disenfranchisement vote”) or to expel the union altogether.
The results of the vote then must be certified by the National Labor Relations Board, the federal agency responsible for enforcing labor laws in the private sector.
The Transport Workers Union’s website states that it “fights for transit workers by helping them organize local unions, negotiating collective bargaining agreements between members and employers, representing members in disputes with management, and ensuring employers abide by the terms of collective bargaining agreements.”
Teamsters Secretary-Treasurer Fred Zuckerman said in a statement that repealing right-to-work laws “means workers will get the rights they want and deserve, including better safety standards, higher wages, a greater voice in the workplace and unfettered freedom of association at work.”
The Center Square was unable to reach the transportation union or the Teamsters for comment prior to publication.
