LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source)- After Democrats have supported the repeal of the right-to-work law since its enactment in 2012, Michigan has repealed the law and reinstalled prevailing wages after Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed Public Act 8 on Friday. 

Michigan has become the first state in nearly 60 years to repeal right-to-work legislation which previously barred labor contracts from requiring workers to become union members or pay the union a fee as a condition of employment. The right-to-work law which was passed under former Gov. Rick Snyder a decade ago. 

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Gov. Whitmer said the legislation would restore workers’ rights, and protect Michiganders on the job while growing Michigan’s middle class. 

“Michigan workers are the most talented and hard-working in the world and deserve to be treated with dignity and respect,” Gov. Whitmer said, “These bills will protect health and safety, ensuring healthcare workers can put patient care ahead of profit, construction workers can speak up when there’s a safety issue, and employees can call attention to food safety threats and other problems. Let’s continue delivering for working people and ensuring Michigan is open for business.”

A sponsor of part of the bill package, Senator Darren Camilleri (D-Trenton) called the overturning of the right-to-work law a historic win for workers everywhere. 

“We were so proud to get this to the governor’s desk, and even prouder to see it signed into law—this is tangible proof that the Republican attack on organized labor has failed,” Senator Camilleri said, “We’re entering a new chapter in Michigan.”

Representative Brenda Carter (D-Pontiac) expressed her belief that the new legislation would attract more workers to the state. 

“We are showing the nation that Michigan is a worker-friendly state, where workers will receive a fair wage for their hard work,” Representative Carter said, “By ensuring fair, competitive wages, we can attract and retain a highly trained workforce because we don’t want to see critical infrastructure projects built by contractors who cut corners.”

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Opponents of the legislation say the opposite, and that the new public act would actually harm Michigan’s competitiveness in attracting new businesses. 

“Gov. Whitmer and Democrats have hurt Michigan’s ability to compete to attract high-paying careers,” House Minority Leader Matt Hall (R-Richland Township) said in a statement, “Their pay cut plan has repealed our right-to-work law, forcing unionization on Michigan workers and taking the fruits of their labor Without right-to-work, businesses will find more competitive states for their manufacturing plants and research and development facilities, and workers and careers will drift away.” 

When the Senate passed its package, Senator Kevin Daley (R-Lum) told the chamber about how Michigan experienced record lows before the right-to-work law and record highs after its passage. 

“Michigan ranked in the bottom-two states in economic development, today we rank in the top half of all the states,” Senator Daley said, “We are officially competitive.  We did it by making our state more competitive by giving our workers freedom by restoring some common sense to help businesses get off the ground.” 

Since the time of the bills passing, Michigan union membership has dropped from nearly 629,000 to roughly 589,000 according to statistics from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.  

The bills did not receive immediate effect, but will go into effect 90 days after the end of the legislative session.