Michigan Workers’ Groups Strip Union Leaders of Collection Powers, Sue Others – Michigan

(The Center Square) – Nearly six months after the Michigan Legislature repealed Right to Work laws, more worker groups are taking action against what they call coercive measures by some unions to collect dues.

Mechanics at Brown Motors in Petoskey and drivers at MV Transportation in Ypsilanti recently successfully voted to strip their union officials of the authority to collect union dues from non-union members.

Brown Motors mechanics voted 75 percent against the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, according to the National Right to Work Foundation Legal Defense Foundation. The Teamsters also face a new lawsuit filed by nurses at Ascension Genesys Hospital in Grand Blanc Township, who say union leaders threatened to fire them if they didn’t pay union dues.

MV Transportation drivers voted 78 percent against the Amalgamated Transit Union, according to the Right to Work Foundation. The National Right to Work Foundation paid legal fees for all three worker groups.

“Despite the fact that an overwhelming majority of Michigan residents wanted Right to Work to remain in place, Michigan lawmakers repealed it on a narrow party-line vote as a gift to the union leaders who fund their campaigns,” Mark Mix, president of the National Right to Work Foundation, said in a press release. “We at the Foundation are proud to help Michigan workers regain their freedom.”

The 2018 U.S. Supreme Court case Janus v. AFSCME ruled that it is unconstitutional for unions to collect agency fees from dissenting, non-union members in the public sector. Right to Work laws guaranteed private sector workers the same protections.

With the repeal of Michigan’s Right to Work laws five months ago, some union leaders are now forcing non-members to pay union dues or risk losing their jobs. The only way Michigan workers can end forced dues is through a majority vote to remove the union’s power to do so — a “deauthorization vote” — or by voting the union out of business altogether.

The votes must then be certified by the National Labor Relations Board, the federal agency responsible for enforcing labor laws in the private sector.

The Transit Union’s website states that the union “fights for public transit workers by helping them organize local unions, negotiating collective bargaining agreements between its members and their employers, representing members in disputes with management, and ensuring that employers abide by the terms of their collective bargaining agreements.”

Fred Zuckerman, Teamsters secretary-treasurer, said in a press release that repealing the Right to Work law means “workers will have better safety standards, higher wages, a louder voice on the job, and the unfettered freedom of association in the workplace that they need and deserve.”

Center Square did not receive comment from the Transit Union and Teamsters prior to publication.