Michigan Legislature sends right-to-work repeal to governor's desk

The Michigan Legislature has sent Governor Gretchen Whitmer pro-union bills that include repealing the state's decade-old right-to-work law.

Adopting the bills was the fulfillment of a promise made by Democrats and a long-held wish by organized labor since Michigan became a right-to-work state in a rowdy, contentious session in 2012 when Republicans held power in the state Capitol. The 2012 law allows workers to opt out of paying union dues even if their workplace is represented by a union.

“It’s huge,” Michigan AFL-CIO President Ron Bieber said of the repeal legislation. “It’s huge for the entire labor movement nationally to have a victory for working people and make progress for a change.”

People cheered from the galleries as bills cleared the state House and Senate on their way to Governor Gretchen Whitmer, who has said she will sign them. The Legislature also adopted bills to require state contractors to pay union-level wages.