Since she is a lifelong rabid supporter of forced unionism, it’s not surprising that the report that Labor Notes editor Jane Slaughter filed on Michigan Right to Work supporters’ amazing December 2012 victory at their state capitol in Lansing is heavy on Big Labor boilerplate and light on analysis.
Nevertheless, Right to Work supporters shouldn’t hesitate to read Slaughter’s account of what happened in Michigan. Unlike most forced-unionism proponents, she is not allied with the officers of any particular union. Consequently, she is willing to discuss some of the key problems that United Autoworkers (UAW/AFL-CIO) and other union kingpins had in pushing for passage of Proposal 2, the pro-union monopoly November 2012 Michigan ballot measure whose 15 percentage-point defeat at the polls paved the way for passage of a Right to Work statute a few weeks later:
The campaign seemed to come from nowhere, in any case. It was not the result of discussion within the union base. Community allies were approached after the decision was made. . . .
Some now want to blame [UAW union President] Bob King for [the Right to Work victory]. If he hadn’t demonstrated to the world [through Proposal 2] that unions aren’t that popular in Michigan, they say, [GOP Gov. Rick] Snyder might not have gotten the right-to-work idea. In addition, King angered Snyder by going for Proposal 2 even though Snyder asked him not to. . . .
The UAW is the leading union in Michigan . . . . Though many remain loyal, it’s impossible to claim that the UAW is popular with its members.
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