As usual,Communications Guru at Blogging For Michigan(Rated by Washington Post as one of the top three political blogs in Michigan) found another fascinating story, this one about Muskegon County Commissioners making a statement for workers rights.
This week the Muskegon County Board of Commissioners voted 6-5 against even having ON THE PREMISES a resolution they received in favor of making Michigan a "Right To Work [for less]" state. Placing communications from other government entities on file is usually a routine vote for the commissioners...it's rubber stamped as a standard matter of course. They get a communication from a fellow government entity, they vote to put it on file. The Muskegon Commissioners voted against even FILING this communication.
That means the board thinks so little of the resolution that it will not even take it up. Commissioner Scott Plummer, D Muskegon Township, had the best quote of the night, according to the Muskegon Chronicle, when told accepting and filing the resolution does not mean the board supports the resolution.
Plummer countered by saying, “Either you’re in favor of it or throw it where it belongs.” That’s exactly what the board did.
Last month the Grand Traverse County Board of Commissioners passed a resolution urging the Michigan legislature to take up Right To Work [for less] legislation for Michigan and then sent their communications to other counties to build support for the resolution.
Muskegon County Commissioners board seems to have made a larger statement on the issue by refusing to receive the document at all.
Michigan's governing bodies went entirely Republican in the last election as apathetic voters stayed home in droves. There's little to nothing standing in the way of dismantling Michigan's strong laws in favor of workers' rights, compensation, and ability to unionize.
Proponents of [Right To Work For Less] – also known as the right to freeload act– claim the law would do away with the requirement that workers must be in a union to be employed at a union shop. However, federal law already protects workers who don’t want to join a union to get or keep their jobs, and the law gives workers the right to opt out of a union. However, they must still pay union dues. RTWFL would give them the option of not paying dues while still enjoying the benefits of being in a union. What it will do is kill the union, and that’s what this is all about.