Ruh-roh. Right-to-work to destroy unions surfaces in MI

We've been worried about this. The Michigan Messenger reports Republican lawmakers plan to push a right-to-work bill to destroy unions this fall.

Two bills were fiiled earlier in February, but have seen no action so far. They would allow counties to pass their own right-to-work bills to dismantle their local unions. Gov. Rick Snyder hasn't advocated the bills, but that's not because he's against them. Reports the Messenger,

Last summer, Gov. Rick Snyder was asked if he would support turning Michigan into a Right to Work state and he replied, “I would sign it, but I wouldn’t put it on my agenda.”

Here's one analysis:

Jonathan Byrd works for the Michigan Laborers Council, an AFL-CIO affiliate, and said RTW is just another attack on organized labor by Republicans who have corporate interests in mind.
He said it’s not surprising to have Republicans be the main pushers for RTW.

“Look at who funds the two groups (Democrats and Republicans). It’s not really rocket science when you have people like the Koch brothers and very wealthy conservatives pushing a fundamentalist agenda, which is to weaken labor unions.”

TJI: NH postpones right-to-work veto override

This just in: Republicans postponed a much-anticipated vote today to override New Hampshire Gov. John Lynch's veto of a right-to-work bill to destroy unions.

The Nashua Telegraph reported this morning that Speaker William O'Brien was 5 to 10 votes short of the majority needed to override the heinous bill. Around noon today O'Brien held a press conference in which he said he'd hold the vote, "When he sees fit." The public was shut out of the meeting.

Though right-to-work to destroy union bills had been introduced in more than a dozen states this year, New Hampshire was the only state in which the bill had advanced to the governor's desk for a veto. Fortunately for the Granite State's working families, Lynch strongly opposes right-to-work laws.

File this under "Good-ish News."

Lynch's awesome veto statement

New Hampshire Gov. John Lynch just issued a tremendous statement explaining why he vetoed the right-to-work bill to destroy unions:

We especially like this part of the statement:

In the last seven years of recruiting businesses to move to New Hampshire, not one business leader has ever even asked me if New Hampshire had a right-to-work law, let alone suggested it was a factor in the company's location decision. No New Hampshire business leaders have ever told me that the lack of a so-called right-to-work law prevented them from expanding or hiring new workers here in New Hampshire. And no New Hampshire workers have ever told me they couldn't get a job because New Hampshire doesn't have a so-called right-to-work law.

The debate over the so-called right-to-work bill in New Hampshire appears to be largely driven by national outside interest groups, and is not a result of problems facing New Hampshire businesses or workers.

There is no justification in this case for state government to interfere with the right of private businesses to freely negotiate and enter into contracts with their employees. Therefore, I am vetoing HB 474.

Read the whole thing here.