“State House committee passes labor bills limiting strikes, dues collection”
By Karen Bouffard
Detroit News Lansing Bureau
February 1, 2012
Lansing— Unions lashed out Tuesday against a package of bills they say is the latest volley in a war against labor by Republican lawmakers.
Legislation passed by a House committee in a room packed with labor supporters would require employees to provide annual written permission to their employers to have union dues deducted from their paychecks.
Another bill would bar county and municipal employees from striking — like public teachers are barred from doing so — and steep fines would be set for public sector strikes and lockouts. The bills also would make it easier for employers to get an injunction to stop picketing.
The package follows passage of a new emergency manager law, teacher tenure reforms and other measures unions believe are intended to weaken collective bargaining, and as momentum builds among the GOP majorities in the House and the Senate to make Michigan a right-to-work state. Gov. Rick Snyder has said he does not want a right-to-work bill to cross his desk, but has stopped short of saying he wouldn't sign such a bill if it's passed by the Legislature.
"This is real bad; this is onerous," Ray Holman, legislative liaison for the UAW Local 6000 which represents 17,000 State of Michigan employees. "It's a skirmish before the giant battle, which is right-to-work.
"This is a way to undermine our political power. It's a power grab."
The package was approved by the House Oversight, Reform and Ethics Committee chaired by Rep. Tom McMillin, R-Rochester Hills. There are three Republicans and two Democrats on the committee.
The bills now go before the full House for a vote and would also have to be passed by the Senate and signed by Snyder to become law.
The package is supported by Republicans and business owners who say reforms are necessary to limit the cost and disruption of strikes.
"This package is pro-worker and pro-taxpayer," said Ari Adler, spokesman for Republican House Speaker Jase Bolger of Marshall. "It will help union members hold union bosses accountable for how they are spending the hard-earned money being taken out of their paychecks in the form of union dues."
An overflow room equipped with a large TV screen was set up next to the hearing room in the House Office Building.
"This is an unwarranted assault on working people," said Jerry Skinner of Farmington Hills, a retired electrician and member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 58, who attended the meeting. "We'll be telling them what we think in November."
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