FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
February 12, 2024
Media Contact: Aaron Pelo, apelo@miaflcio.org | 734.355.2741
Historic Repeal, Dozens of Workers’ Rights Laws Take Effect Tomorrow
LANSING, Mich. – Tomorrow, over a dozen workers’ rights laws passed by the legislature and signed by the Governor last year go into effect. Among them are the repeal of Michigan’s 2012 ban on union security clauses, otherwise known as “right to work,” the first repeal of its kind in the nation in almost 60 years. The bills taking effect are part of a broad agenda to expand and protect workers’ rights, something Michigan voters overwhelmingly favor.
“This moment has been decades in the making,” said Michigan AFL-CIO President Ron BIEBER. “By standing up and taking their power back, at the ballot box and in the workplace, workers have made it clear Michigan is and always will be the beating heart of the modern American labor movement. The work to get here after decades of attacks on wages and collective bargaining rights was grueling, but tomorrow, the beginning of a new workers’ rights agenda, where people come before profits, takes effect. I couldn’t be more proud.”
Among the laws taking effect on February 13th are:
- The repeal of Michigan’s 2012 ban on union security clauses, otherwise known as “right to work.” (SB 34 – Camilleri and HB 4004 – Weiss)
- The restoration of prevailing wage (HB 4007 – B. Carter)
- The expansion of the Working Families Tax Credit (4001 – Witwer)
- The repeal of Snyder’s tax on retiree pensions (HB 4001 – Witwer)
- The expansion of the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act to include protections for LGBTQ+ Michiganders (SB 4 – Moss)
- The creation of a new Community and Worker Economic Transition Office (SB 519 – Singh)
- The restoration of subjects of collective bargaining rights for public school employees (HB 4354 – Weiss)
- The restoration of Detroit Public School teachers wage bargaining rights for teachers hired after 2019. (SB 359 – Chang)
- The elimination of penalties on public employees when their contracts expire. (HB 4044 – Koleszar)
- The restoration of teachers unions right to bargain over privatization of school support staff (HB 4356 – B. Carter)
- The ability for teachers unions to bargain over teacher evaluation terms (SB 395 – Polehanki)
- The restoration of organizing rights for graduate student research assistants (SB 185 – Irwin)
“This is a big day for workers across our state,” said State Senator Darrin CAMILLERI. “In a matter of months, our Democratic majority has been able to get more done for Michigan’s working men and women than we’ve seen in the past decade. As the son and grandson of union auto workers, I was particularly proud to sponsor and fight for Senate Bill 34, which expands collective bargaining power and allows workers to more freely and effectively negotiate for the pay, benefits, and working conditions they need and deserve.”
“Workers showed up at the ballot box and have elected a Democratic trifecta that is standing up for them,” said State Representative and Michigan Legislative Labor Caucus Chair Regina WEISS. “From repealing anti-labor legislation such as so-called “right to work,” to restoring collective bargaining rights for teachers and school employees, House and Senate Dems have delivered on our promise to put working families first.
The Michigan AFL-CIO, Michigan’s largest labor organization, is a federation representing more than one thousand labor unions, eighteen different central labor councils, and eight constituency groups representing over 1 million union members and their families.
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