Michigan Approves Right-to-work Legislation Amid Intense Protests
Union Thugs Assault Journalist
December 11, 2012
Infowars.com - Fox News journalist Steven Crowder was attacked on Tuesday as he attempted to interview union members outside the capitol building in Lansing, Michigan.
In the video, a middle age man punches Crowder several times. A few moments later, another man grabs the reporter from behind.
The incident reveals the level of animosity some union members have for the so-called “conservative” media that has carried less than sympathetic coverage of the union’s plight.
A mob of union members also destroyed a tent pitched by Americans for Prosperity, a group advocating right-to-work laws. The mob brought down the tent with knives and “danced” on it with people inside scrambling to get out.
The union members had gathered to protest against a bill banning workplace rules that make union membership a condition of employment for government workers.
The bill passed by a 58-51 vote in Michigan’s Republican-led House on Tuesday.
New laws will make Michigan 24th "right-to-work" state
December 11, 2012As more than 12,000 unionized workers and supporters protested at the capitol in Lansing, the Republican-dominated House of Representatives gave final approval to the bills. In less than a week, Michigan was transformed from a bastion of union influence to the verge of joining states, mostly in the South, that have weakened legal protections for unions.
While labor leaders decried the legislation, Republican Representative Lisa Lyons said during the debate in the House that the right-to-work laws are not an attack on unions.
"This is the day Michigan freed its workers," she said.Opponents argue that they undermine a basic union tenet of bargaining collectively with employers for better wages, benefits and working conditions. They also allow workers to opt out of a union, potentially reducing membership.
"Let me tell the governor and all those elected officials who vote for this shameful, divisive bill - there will be repercussions," Hoffa said. "Some day soon, they will face the voters of Michigan and they will have to explain why they sided with the billionaires to back this destructive legislation."Unions have accused Snyder of caving in to wealthy Republican business owners who wanted right-to-work passed.
The right-to-work movement has grown in the United States in recent years. Indiana earlier this year became the first state in the industrial Midwest to approve right-to-work and several other states are watching the Michigan action closely.
LEGAL CHALLENGES LOOM
Wisconsin Republicans in 2011 passed laws severely restricting the power of public sector unions. While Wisconsin did not attempt to pass right-to-work, the success of Republicans there in curbing powerful unions such as teachers and state workers encouraged politicians in other states to follow suit.
Republicans in Michigan also were emboldened by the defeat in the November election of a ballot initiative backed by unions that would have enshrined the right to collective bargaining in the state constitution.
Michigan is home of the heavily unionized U.S. auto industry, with some 700 manufacturing plants in the state. The state has the fifth highest percentage of workers who are union members at 17.5 percent. Only New York, Alaska, Hawaii and Washington state are more heavily unionized.
Democrats and unions have vowed to challenge the new laws in the courts, to try to overturn them in a ballot initiative and possibly oust some Republicans who voted for right-to-work through recall elections.
Read More..."There will be fights on the shop floor if many workers announce they will not pay union dues," Geiss said.