Michigan adds to Indiana in passing the right-to-work legislation and is the second state upholding the right-to-work principal in the unionized Midwest. The legislation becomes a monumental from the union power into free labour. Laws in the right-to-work act prohibit any employer from forcing employees to contribute the mandatory dues to the labour unions as a way of gaining employment. It is irrespective of whether they are union members and prohibit the employers from having to fire the workers if they are not under a union (Bennett, 2012). Employees no longer face the obligation of paying union dues, revenue, strength decline, and union membership.
There are no shortages of the outrage across union workers as they stormed in protest. Union workers, as well as their Democratic allies, appreciate that the transition to a right-to-work environment is near fatal blows to the entrenched union interests in Michigan. Many unions continue to deviate from the original goal while warping to powerful special interests as compared to the true representatives of rights for the workers (Bennett, 2012). Irrespective of the protests from labour unions and Democratic allies, Michigan's legislation is not ending the element of collective bargaining and does not increase the pension contributions and payments of health care benefit to the union workers.
It is probable that the right-to-work status in Michigan will unlock the employers from the burdensome union contracts through attracting new private enterprises from Detroit. Contrary to thought by President Obama, laws entrenched in the right-to-work principle have a direct relationship to economics (Bennett, 2012). Right-to-work regulations avail the employers the choice and freedom of hiring non-union workers and negotiating contracts with various parties. Due to this, right-to-work situations become more attractive to the private business as compared to the non-right-to-work while increasing wages in the private sector.
References
Bennett, W. J., (2012) A victory for right-to-work laws. CNN. Retrieved on 10th June 2014 from http://edition.cnn.com/2012/12/12/opinion/bennett-michigan-unions/
