Share
News

Michigan Public Workers Opting Out of Unions in Larger Numbers Since Right-To-Work Law

Share

Since Michigan’s right-to-work law went into effect in 2013, growing numbers of public employees have exercised their right to opt out of paying union dues and fees, according to data compiled by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy.

In June 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court established right-to-work for public employees across the nation, holding in Janus v. AFSCME that compelling these workers to pay union fees violates their First Amendment rights to freedom of speech and freedom of association.

Some of Michigan’s government unions have seen the number of fee-paying employees fall 10 percent since right-to-work went into effect. Others, including the Michigan State Employees Association and the SEIU Local 517M, have seen declines of 20 percent or more. The number of workers paying fees to MSEA fell by 345, from 3,079 to 2,734. SEIU Local 517M decreased by 782 individuals, going from 3,532 to 2,750.

Before right-to-work, 96 percent of Michigan’s public sector workforce paid fees to a union; that figure stands at 76 percent today.

Some larger public sector unions, such as UAW Local 6000, have seen a significant decrease in dues-paying employees in the workplaces they have organized. That union had 15,673 members in 2013, representing 91 percent of the covered workforce.

Trending:
KJP Panics, Hangs Up in Middle of Interview When Reporter Shows He Isn't a Democratic Party Propagandist

The number of individuals paying dues and fees dropped to 13,785 five years later, or 82 percent of the workers covered by the union’s collective bargaining agreements.

Michigan’s right-to-work law did not apply to public safety jobs, so police and fire unions have not seen a decline in membership.

The Michigan State Police Troopers Association even saw an increase in the number of public safety workers paying union dues, going from 1,374 to 1,702 members in a five-year span. Today, 99 percent of employees who are covered by its collective bargaining agreement are paying dues, up from 94 percent.

Unlike Michigan’s 2013 right-to-work law, the Supreme Court’s 2018 Janus ruling does apply to public safety workers, however, meaning they no longer have to pay union fees.

Should Americans be forced to join union if they don't want to?

Given that Janus has been in effect for less than a year, it is unclear how public safety unions will fare going forward.

Tony Daunt, executive director of the Michigan Freedom Fund, said that decline in the number of fee-paying public sector employees covered by Michigan’s right-to-work law demonstrates that unions do not always operate in the best interest of workers.

“Right-to-work is a fundamental and necessary protection of our First Amendment freedoms of speech and association,” Daunt said. “Nobody should be forced to join, fund or otherwise support an organization against their will.”

Looking beyond the effects of right-to-work laws on the public sector, Daunt said that they have led to “robust growth and economic opportunity” in the private sector, which compelling workers to pay fees to unions had inhibited.

“Despite the loud and cynical protestations from labor union officials, right-to-work laws are a positive for everyone involved,” he said.

Related:
Major Police Union Changes Endorsement, Throws Support Behind Trump: 'The Choice Is Crystal Clear'

Officials from several Michigan unions did not return phone calls or emails.

Tyler Arnold reports on Virginia, Ohio and Michigan for Watchdog.org. He previously worked for the Cause of Action Institute. A previous version of this article appeared on the Watchdog.org website.

Truth and Accuracy

Submit a Correction →



We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.

Tags:
, , , , , , ,
Share
The Center Square was launched in May 2019 to fulfill the need for high-quality statehouse and statewide news across the United States. The focus of our work is state- and local-level government and economic reporting. A taxpayer sensibility distinguishes our work from other coverage of state and local issues. As a result of this approach, our readers are better informed about the focus of state and local government and its cost to the citizens whose tax dollars fund governmental decisions.
The Center Square was launched in May 2019 to fulfill the need for high-quality statehouse and statewide news across the United States.

The focus of our work is state- and local-level government and economic reporting. A taxpayer sensibility distinguishes our work from other coverage of state and local issues. As a result of this approach, our readers are better informed about the focus of state and local government and its cost to the citizens whose tax dollars fund governmental decisions.

The Center Square is staffed by editors and reporters with extensive professional journalism experience. We engage readers with essential news, data and analysis – delivered with velocity, frequency and consistency.

We distribute our journalism through three main channels at no cost to our partners or readers: a newswire service to legacy publishers and broadcasters, TheCenterSquare.com, and social media.

The Center Square is a project of the 501(c)(3) Franklin News Foundation, headquartered in Chicago.




Conversation