With their state Senate debating so-called “Right to Work” legislation this week and their Assembly expected to take it up next week, Wisconsin is poised to become the latest Republican-controlled state to enact the anti-union law. In the weeks and months leading up to Michigan’s passage of right to work legislation, anti-union forces rebranded it as “Freedom to Work”. The […]

The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a Koch brothers-funded group that churns out pro-business model legislation for state legislators, has been incredibly effective at impacting policy at the state level. A recent study shows just how effective they have been: Building on research I am conducting with Konstantin Kashin, I used text analysis of ALEC’s model legislation, along with all […]

The uber-wealthy Koch brothers are no fans of organized labor. Nothing stands in the way of their massive accumulation of wealth quite like workers who want a fair wage, good benefits, and a safe work environment. By funding myriad different groups, they work diligently to stamp out workers’ rights wherever and however they can. One of the groups they fund […]

Never, ever forget Eclectagraphic by Anne C. Savage, special to Eclectablog A year ago today, Michigan, the birthplace of the modern labor movement, became the country’s 24th right to work state. Though it has failed to kill the labor movement in the way its corporatist proponents had hoped it would, neither has it done anything that could even remotely be […]

Oh, this is rich Last week a judge in Indiana ruled that the state’s so-called “right to work” law is unconstitutional. According to federal law, unions must cover everyone at a workplace but Indiana law prohibits delivery of services “without just compensation”. Since Indiana’s right to work law allows workers to benefit from union collective bargaining but does NOT require […]

Scrub-a-dub-dub… Graphic by Anne C. Savage, special to Eclectablog Last January, I wrote first about the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) crowing about screwing workers with Right to Work. In fact, they corrupted our beloved “Pure Michigan” brand to do so. Shortly after that, I broke the story of how they scrubbed their Right to Work bragging from the state […]

The fight to reclaim our state in 2014 starts TODAY

Today Michigan, the birthplace of the labor movement, becomes the 24th Right to Work state in the USA. It’s also the day that PA 436, the Emergency Manager law Republicans passed to thwart the wishes of Michigan voters, goes into effect. PA 436 transforms all Emergency Financial Managers to Emergency Managers (EMs), giving them powers above and beyond financial matters as they are the sole rulers of the schools and municipalities over which they have complete power.

Much more after the jump.

Now we’re getting somewhere

An administrative law judge has ordered Ferris State University to explain why they rejected a union contract that had already been agreed upon in an attempt to see if Michigan Republican meddling interfered with the collective bargaining process. It’s the first time a judge has looked into whether or not this interference has violated the law or, perhaps more accurately, coerced university board members into violating the law.

The union contract contained a provision that extended the right of the union to continue to collect dues from its members, staving off the impacts of the Right to Work law that has not yet gone into effect. After it was rejected, the union filed an unfair labor practice charge against the university.

Click through for more.

Will Michigan Republicans go after and punish counties now???

Last night, the Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners ratified union contracts with union groups providing services to the County that stave off the effects of the recently-passed Right to Work law for ten more years.

More after the jump.

Wait, is that a “pregnancy tax”???

Grosse Pointe teachers signed a new four-year contract with their school district that continues a unique twist: It ties teachers’ pay to the school district’s fund equity (basically what the district owns minus what it owes). In exchange, they put off the effects of Michigan’s new right to work law for four years and, thanks to modifications in the previous contract’s provisions, avoided pay cuts of up to 9%. In this case, it appears that the school district was able to use the threat of the impending right to work law to get quick ratification of the new contract.

Much more after the jump.

I’m about to break my vow of no profanity on this blog…

In what can only be considered an incredible dick move, Michigan Republicans have decided to take up Democratic legislation that would repeal Right to Work in our state — on the very last day of the 2013 legislative session.

Ideologues. Drunk with power. Being dicks.