PAX Centurion - January / February 2013

www.bppa.org PAX CENTURION • January/February 2013 • Page 33 Around Organized Labor: THE MIDWEST TURNS BACK THE CLOCK RIGHT TO WORK FOR LESS IN MICHIGAN M ichigan, a state long recognized as a bastion of organized labor, became the 24th right-to-work state in December 2012. Right-to- work laws ban “union security agreements,” or agreements between unions and employers that can require employees’ membership in a union or payment of union dues, fees, or equivalents as a condition of employment, either before or after hiring. Michigan’s new status as a right-to-work state once seemed unfath- omable considering that many labor historians argue that the 1936-1937 Flint Sit-DownStrikewas the biggest catalyst tounionization throughout the country. Members of the fledgling United Automobile Workers (“UAW”) physicallyoccupied aGeneralMotors plant inFlint,Michigan from December 30, 1936 to February 11, 1937. The strike captivated the public and managed to win sympathy from President Franklin D. Roosevelt and from the thenGovernor ofMichigan FrankMurphywho sent the National Guard to provide the strikingworkers protection from the police and corporate strike-breakers. The following year, the UAW grew from 30,000 to 500,000 members as result of what the British BroadcastingChannel called the strike thatwas “heard round theworld.” Despite the rich history of organized labor in Michigan, Governor RickSnyder and theRepublican-controlledMichigan legislature passed the right-to-work lawbecause theybelieved that the union security agree- ments that were in place were a restriction on freedom and prevented Michigan fromobtaining“more andbetter jobs.”Governor Snyder stated O n November 20, 2012, Illinois Governor Pat Quinn (D) terminated contracts with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (“AFSCME”) covering approximately 40,000 union state employees. The Governor claimed that termination was based on a failure of the union to negotiate in good faith during the prior 11-month period, but critics responded that there were no concessions being made on the state side. The termination in and of itself will have little immediate effect on union members since the terms and conditions of employment under the expired collective bar- gaining agreement remain in place under state law, but the termination reflects the pressures of engaging in the collective bargaining process in today’s economy. The Governor blamed wages and benefits provided to union state workers for a significant portion of the accumu- lation of $96 billion in unfunded pension liabilities as well as Illinois’ delinquency of approximately $8 billion to vendors. The battle continues with neither side offering compromise. AFSCME finds itself under attack for wages and benefits bargained for in good faith over a number of years. The state of Illinois now seeks concessions in the form of meaningful givebacks and/or a pay freeze, in a manner posing a further challenge to the collective bargaining process. this law is not anti-union because it “provides unions an opportunity to be more responsive to workers.” Labor advocates disputed these no- tions and argued that right-to-work laws are passedwith the intention to weaken unions and stifle wages and benefits. President Barack Obama expressed this sentiment by calling the legislation “right towork for less.” Governor Snyder and the Michi- gan legislature tried to immunize the law from being overturned by legislative referendum by coupling the right-to-work law with a spend- ing bill, which they believe cannot be overturned by legislative referen- dum in Michigan. More than 10,000 protestors were on hand to protest the bill signing ceremony. Michigan labor leaders vowed to defeat this measure by invoking a “statutory initiative.” Labor leaders argue that Michigan’s constitution permits a method of overturning a spending bill by a referendum vote if it can collect signatures equal to at least eight percent of the votes cast in the last gubernatorial election. Under their legal analysis, the collection of the signatures triggers a referendum vote. Legal experts believe that such a referendum vote would not be possible until 2014 at the earliest. Labor leaders vowed to fight on and collect the requisite signatures and use any other method at their disposal to reverse the right-to-work law, including, for now, signing new labor agreements with security and check off provisions before the law’s March 2013 effective date bars them. So I ask, is this the NewAmerica? ILLINOIS TERMINATES contracts covering state workers IF WE HAD TO PAY UNION WAGES, WE COULDN’T BUY TOYS WITH LEAD, TOOTHPASTE WITH ANTIFREEZE, AND WHERE WOULD WE GET POISON PET FOOD? KEEP PRICES AND WAGES LOW. BUY FOREIGN.