Biden White House Earned Big Labor’s Accolades
While Americans overwhelmingly support the Right to Work principle, Joe Biden was committed to wiping out all state Right to Work laws. As he put it, “I’m a union President. Make no bones about it.”
Ignoring scientific surveys that showed registered voters in Michigan overwhelmingly supported retention of their state’s decade-old Right to Work law, Big Labor Democrat politicians in Lansing, led by union-label Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, killed this law in early 2023.
Last fall, in the very next election cycle, ordinary Michiganders got a chance at the polls to demonstrate to state representatives who had participated in the execution of Right to Work just how angry they are about this power grab.
And once the Election Day dust had settled, it was clear that Big Labor House of Representatives Speaker Joe Tate (D-Detroit), who had rammed Right to Work destruction through his chamber, would lose his throne in 2025.
“When they were eliminating Right to Work protections for rank-and-file Michigan employees a little less than two years ago, Gretchen Whitmer and her cohorts clearly didn’t think it mattered what the public thought,” said National Right to Work Committee Vice President John Kalb.
“Of course, they could not help but be aware of the late 2022 statewide poll conducted on the Right to Work issue by the top-rated opinion research firm SurveyUSA.
“It showed that an overwhelming 88% majority of Michigan voters agreed with this statement: ‘Workers should never be forced, or coerced, to join a union or pay dues to a union.’”
“However,” continued Mr. Kalb, “politically powerful union bosses were adamantly demanding that compulsory dues be brought back to the state. In the end, not a single elected Democrat representative or senator dared to tell them, ‘No.’
“Rank-and-file legislators knew their party leaders would not look kindly on anyone who impeded Right to Work repeal in any way.”
With forced-dues restoration advancing rapidly, House Labor Committee Chairman Jim Haadsma (D-Battle Creek) acknowledged what was happening to a reporter:
“[Y]ou got to understand that I’m a cog. I’m a good soldier. I do what I’m asked, and it’s not up to me to decide . . . .”
Ms. Whitmer, Mr. Tate, and their minions evidently calculated that the huge reward they would reap in union boss money and manpower for wiping out Right to Work would ensure they could avoid suffering grave political repercussions for defying the wishes of the vast majority of Michiganders.
Indeed, in last November’s state-level elections, when seats in the Michigan House of Representatives were up for grabs, but neither Senate seats nor the governorship were, Big Labor Democrat politicians were able to outspend their GOP counterparts by nearly four-to-one, thanks largely to union bosses’ largesse.
But the massive, forced dues-fueled union political machine could not prevent the defeats of four anti-Right to Work incumbent representatives, including Mr. Haadsma. Nor was the union machine able to engineer the defeat of a single lawmaker who had voted to retain Right to Work protections.
Consequently, when the Michigan House reconvenes this winter, pro-Right to Work Republicans will hold a 58-52 majority in the chamber.
“Big Labor’s defeat in the 2024 state elections was a major step towards Right to Work restoration in Michigan,” said Mr. Kalb.
He noted that, just last April, then-Minority Leader and now-Speaker-elect Matt Hall (Richland Township) and the rest of the House GOP caucus had issued a statement declaring that the return of Right to Work is one of a handful of reforms that are critical for making Michigan’s economy healthy again.
Mr. Kalb added: “Freedom-loving Michigan citizens deserve the credit for steering their state away from the destructive path upon which it’s been headed, but the grassroots Michigan Right to Work Committee also deserves credit for informing such citizens about where their state candidates stood on Right to Work.
“Of course, as long as union-boss lackeys continue to retain control of the state Senate and the governorship in Michigan, Big Labor bosses will retain the power to get employees fired for refusal to bankroll a union.
“But ordinary Michiganders have already made it plain that they, not career politicians, will have the final say on Right to Work.”
This article was originally published in our monthly newsletter. Go here to access previous newsletter posts.
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While Americans overwhelmingly support the Right to Work principle, Joe Biden was committed to wiping out all state Right to Work laws. As he put it, “I’m a union President. Make no bones about it.”
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