DETROIT — Michigan Democrats passed a “dues-skimming” law to unionize caregivers with less than a month until Election Day, potentially setting the stage for them to take control of the Great Lakes state in 2025. This shows that the party recognizes that there is a gender bias.
Michigan's full House of Representatives will be up for election on Nov. 5, with Republicans needing to flip just two seats to take control of the chamber and break Democrats' 56-54 majority. But Republicans are making even bigger bets, eyeing potential wins in as many as 12 House seats this cycle.
That means lame duck season will arrive early this year, and Democrats are celebrating by showering union supporters with gifts from Congress.
Michigan's home help program pays individuals who are not medical professionals to care for sick or injured family members. This is an alternative to hiring outside help or leaving a loved one at home.
The dues surcharge law would force approximately 30,000 of these home help workers to pay dues to the Service Employees International Union. Public employees have a First Amendment right to leave their unions. However, opting out is difficult and there is no need to inform employees of their right to opt out.
Critics and analysts say that even with opt-outs, the dues skim could result in a $16 million annual windfall for SEIU at the lower end.
Bill Schuette is the first-term chairman of the House Republican Campaign Committee and is trying to regain control of the chamber. Republicans controlled the Michigan Legislature for the better part of 40 years, until 2022.
“Just because it's October doesn't mean we need to go the 'Walking Dead' route and bring back zombies from Michigan's political past,” Schuette told the Post.
Dues skimming is not new in Michigan. This is my second pass. First, SEIU collected $34 million in dues. Before lawmakers abolished the program in 2012, it received donations from home help workers.
However, a different lawmaker is currently in charge.
In this election year, legislation has been delayed. The House of Representatives had not been in session since June until September 25th.
That was the day this dues skim bill was introduced by the Senate Appropriations Committee in the form of Senate Bills 790 and 791. It passed the full House and Senate the same day.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed the bill last week.
“They got it all done in one day,” Schuette told the Post. “There was no time for discussion or discussion.”
Whitmer was a state lawmaker when Republicans first ended the dues tax cut in 2012. The governor has offered an increase in membership fees as a way to “restore bargaining rights,'' but Republicans point out that since home help workers earn a fixed wage, there is no room for negotiation.
These workers have no room for wage negotiation, so any unauthorized absences will result in wages being paid to the union.
“Wages are set by the federal government, so there's no one to negotiate with,” Schuette said. “This is not an employer-employee relationship like you see in the private sector. These wages are essentially set by federal Medicaid reimbursement, Medicare programs, etc. So the only people who benefit from this are the unions.”
Patrick Wright, vice president of legal affairs at the Mackinac Center, a free market think tank in Michigan, said because home help workers are employed by the Department of Health and Human Services, they are public employees and have the right to opt out. Ta. The number of unions has increased thanks to the U.S. Supreme Court's 2018 decision in Janus v. American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees.
Wright pointed out that unlike last time, workers have a way out of the union they were forced to join.
The Mackinac Center is working to inform employees of their right to opt-out. Republican efforts to inform home-help workers of their “Janus rights” have failed, betraying party policy.
Schuette said Republicans see a campaign problem here. They start by noting the practice of dues skimming, which is generally unpopular when people hear about it. And we'll be talking about all the issues that Democrats ignored to pass the bill in one day.
“There's no shortage of big issues facing the state right now,” Schuette said. “With the elimination of tip credits in our state, our restaurants are facing an existential threat. Our state has concerns about the viability of our paid sick leave program that was just enacted by the state Supreme Court.” There is no small business that does not.”
Despite warnings from various quarters that the new pay structure would push some restaurants to the brink of closure, Michigan lawmakers have not taken action to eliminate tipped wages in the future.
“So we have some serious problems, and instead of digging into them and addressing them, they passed this dues bill,” Schuette told the Post. “That's pretty ridiculous.”
