Politics & Government
Your Guide to Right-to-Work Bills, Lawmakers' Votes
Legislation passed last week in the Michigan House and Senate could reach Gov. Rick Snyder for his signature by Tuesday. Leave a comment or upload a photo if you participate in related demonstrations!
Demonstrators took to the Capitol steps Monday in Lansing to sound off on right-to-work legislation that is poised to become law after Gov. Rick Snyder did an abrupt about-face on the issue last week and a series of related bills passed in the House and Senate.
Larger protests are expected Tuesday when the legislation could reach Snyder's desk for his signature. Patch will be live-blogging from Lansing as the situation develops.
Read on for a description of each bill and to find out how lawmakers who represent Berkley and Huntington Woods voted.
Find out what's happening in Dearbornwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
House Bill 4054
The legislation that would make Michigan a "right-to-work" state was passed 58 to 52 in the House on Dec. 6, according to michiganvotes.org. The bill would prohibit unions from requiring workers to pay dues as a term of employment. It also includes a $1 million appropriation to make it "referendum-proof," michiganvotes.org reports. (Visit legislature.mi.gov to download the full bill.)
- Rep. George Darany, D-Dearborn, representing the 15th District: Voted no
Senate Bill 116
The legislation that would make Michigan a "right-to-work" state was passed 22 to 16 in the Senate on Dec. 6, according to michiganvotes.org. The bill would prohibit unions from requiring workers to pay dues as a term of employment. It also includes a $1 million appropriation to make it "referendum-proof," michiganvotes.org reports. (Visit legislature.mi.gov to download the full bill.)
Find out what's happening in Dearbornwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
- Sen. Morris Hood, D-Dearborn, representing the 3rd District including Dearborn, plus parts of River Rouge and Detroit: Voted no
House Bill 4003
The legislation that would extend right-to-work regulations to government and school employees passed 22 to 4 in the Senate on Dec. 6. It passed 63 to 46 in the House on June 8, 2011, according to michiganvotes.org. (Visit legislature.mi.gov to download the full bill.)
- Rep. George Darany, D-Dearborn, representing the 15th District: Voted no
Senate Democrats, who walked out of the Capitol on Thursday in a show of protest after all 21 of their proposed amendments to the bill were defeated, did not vote on the legislation.
Dearborn Sen. Hood said he was especially disappointed that an amendment failed that would require right-to-work legislation to show results. The amendment, he explained, said that if seasonally adjusted unemployment didn't drop 1 percent per years and remain below 5 percent total, then right-to-work would "sunset" after four years.
"If this is such a good thing for the state of Michigan," he said, "implement it and let’s see what happens over the next five years for the economy."
